By Razeen Gutta
Chelsea women’s striker Sam Kerr has pleaded not guilty to a charge of racially aggravated harassment.
The Matildas captain will now face trial after initially pleading not guilty to the offence at a court hearing on Monday, according to the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service.
Kerr is scheduled to appear at Wimbledon Magistrate’s Court on 1 February 2025 after being charged on 21 January 2024 “with a racially aggravated offence under Section 4A [of the] Public Order Act 1986”, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said, according to the BBC.
As Kerr is one of Australia’s biggest sports stars, the country’s football federation chief executive James Johnson spoke out on the matter.
Johnson called the allegations “very serious” but also emphasised Kerr’s rights.
“There is no place for racism in our sport. We are trying to get to the bottom of it at the moment. We’ve got to find out what actually happened,” he told reporters.
“I haven’t spoken to Sam other than a text message to check in on her wellbeing. At the same time, Sam has rights, natural justice rights, procedural rights that she has to work through and we will respect that.”
Kerr has scored 99 goals in 128 matches since joining the Blues in 2019. However, she is currently out of the team and recovering after suffering an injury in January.
Pictured above: Sam Kerr.
Image source: @chelseafcw
