Matildas veteran Emily van Egmond faced a grilling over Sam Kerr on Tuesday, declaring the 31-year-old superstar should remain Australian captain despite calls for her to stand down.
Van Egmond fronted media the same day that Socceroos legend Robbie Slater slammed Football Australia’s “weak” punishment of Kerr ahead of her Matildas return.
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On Monday, FA finally ended weeks of speculation over possible disciplinary action that followed her highly-publicised UK court case, announcing that Kerr was clear to return to full duties with the Matildas.
The team has upcoming matches against the Korea Republic in Sydney and Newcastle, beginning on Friday.
Matildas vice-captain Van Egmond said that Kerr “definitely shouldn’t be stepping down”.
“As teammates and a team we are in full support of her and we are looking forward to the game on Friday,” Van Egmond said.
Van Egmond had to face a repeated line of questioning about Kerr before a FA press officer appeared to step in and ask for questions to be focused on the game.
Van Egmond said: “The FA put out their statement and it speaks for itself.”
However, the million-dollar question surrounding whether Kerr would continue don the captain armband was not explicitly addressed in FA’s statement and remains up in the air.
The saga comes after Kerr was found not guilty on one charge of racially aggravated harassment in February after she called a police officer “f***ing stupid and white”.
Slater called for Kerr to stand down as the Matildas captain in the lead up to the friendly international matches.
“Football Australia has failed in its role as guardians of the game in this country,” he wrote for CODE Sports.
“The best thing that Kerr can do when she returns to action is to decline any offer to again captain the Matildas.”
Slater hoped Kerr would now “do the right thing and she simply cannot captain the national team again”, saying the decision not to rescind her captaincy means FA have failed to hold players accountable to the national code of conduct.
‘No further action’ Kerr joins Matildas | 03:38
In response to the frenzy surrounding her court case, Kerr spoke of her “regret” over the incident.
“I want to express my sincere regret for how events unfolded,” she said in Football Australia’s statement.
“I recognise that leadership means being mindful of our actions both on and off the pitch.
“I’m proud of the Matildas, the role I have played as a member of that team, and everything we stand for, and I’m committed to learning from this experience.”
FA chairman Anter Isaac said that the incident shouldn’t overshadow Kerr’s contribution to the game.
Kerr also has full support from her teammates, Van Egmond said.
Kerr has rejoined her teammates in a non-playing capacity. She has not played since tearing her ACL during a Chelsea training camp in January last year.
Steph Catley has captained the Matildas in Kerr’s absence and will continue for the Korea Republic friendlies.
The Matildas named a 23-player squad to face South Korea, with midfielder Katrina Gorry withdrawing due to an ankle injury suffered in West Ham’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea in the Women’s Super League on the weekend.
“Now it’s time to get on the field and let the football do the talking,” Van Egmond said.
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