Matildas captain Sam Kerr allegedly called a police officer “a stupid white bastard” during a dispute over a taxi fare last year, according to UK Newspaper The Sun.
Kerr is scheduled to stand trial in London after entering a plea of not guilty to a charge stemming from an alleged encounter with a police officer in January last year.
Seeking To Have Charges Dismissed
The Matildas striker, having pleaded not guilty, is actively seeking to have the charge of racially harassing the police officer dismissed. The incident allegedly occurred after she fell ill in a cab following a night out, with reports indicating she uttered the slur when police arrived to address the dispute in Twickenham, South West London.
Kerr faces charges of intentionally causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm, or distress to the male PC under section 31(1)(b) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. If found guilty, Kerr could potentially receive a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment.
The captain has been given “full support” from English women’s manager Emma Hayes who acknowledged the “difficult time” she was experiencing.
“Sam has our full support. She knows that. It’s a difficult time for her. Of course, I can’t comment, you know that. I can say I know she’s pleaded not guilty, and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardise anything for Sam by speaking about it.”
“For that reason, I’m sure you can appreciate that’s all I’m going to say on the matter. Difficult moments, tough times. That’s what my role is in this football club – to make sure I look after our people”, Hayes said in a statement to reporters on Thursday morning, Australian time.
The alleged incident occurred shortly after Kerr scored a hat-trick, securing Chelsea’s 3-2 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup, but remained undisclosed to the public until now.
Kerr’s legal team is set to return to court on April 26 to seek to avoid a criminal trial scheduled for February next year. According to court documents released on Tuesday, her team plan to argue an abuse of process by Crown prosecutors, following the nearly 12-month delay in laying charges.
Kerr’s Sponsorships At Risk
According to sports and media lawyer Simon Goldberg, the Matildas captain’s sponsorships were at risk following her harassment charges.
Goldberg told Today that Kerr could face a possible sponsor backlash, stating “the police take very seriously their officers being verbally abused or in any way criticised or attacked”.
He noted the possibility of Kerr’s sponsors, such as Nike, opting to suspend or terminate their contract.
“So there’ll be a morals clause in a contract typically, which will say, if you’re going to bring the sponsor into disrepute – and obviously again, because of the race element, they may take the view that she has,” he said.
If Kerr’s bid to throw the charges out fails, she will stand trial at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court in south-west London on February 3.
The trial is projected to last between four and five days, with testimony expected from two police officers, and the court is likely to review police body camera footage.
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