Football Australia boss refuses to say Sam Kerr will continue to captain her country – but one of Australia’s top politicians has backed her to the hilt

Whether Sam Kerr remains Matildas captain after her high-profile court case is still unclear after Football Australia (FA) refused to speculate on the injured striker’s playing future.

Kerr is in line to return from an anterior cruciate ligament injury for international friendlies against South Korea in Australia in April, but will first attempt to clear her name in a court in England.

The 31-year-old striker is on trial this week, facing a charge of racially aggravated harasment of a police officer following a night out in London in 2023.

Footage played in court this week showed Kerr labelling a police officer ‘stupid and white’.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of 26 weeks in jail under UK law.

Kerr denies the charge.

Fronting the media in Sydney, FA chief James Johnson refused to comment on how the forward’s return to the pitch will be handled or whether she will hold on to the captaincy.

FA has not had to make any decision on the captaincy since news of the case broke as Kerr has been sidelined through her ACL tear since last January, with Steph Catley standing in as skipper.

‘We understand that there will be some disappointment out there (from fans), but what we would ask is that we all wait out,’ Johnson said on Wednesday.

‘What we need to do is give Sam the opportunity to go through the trial.

‘Once we complete the trial, then we’ll have a holistic view of what’s happened.’

The Matildas will host South Korea at Allianz Stadium on April 4 and at McDonald Jones Stadium three days later in the lead-up to the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

Provided there are no setbacks with her return at Women’s Super League club Chelsea, interim Matildas coach Tom Sermanni believes Kerr has put herself in the frame to feature in the April window.

‘Right now, I would say there’s a decent chance that she will be fit,’ Sermanni said.

‘She’s feeling good, she’s feeling fit, she’s feeling healthy.

‘But then, by that stage, she’s not played for probably 15 months.

‘A lot of things will potentially depend on what her schedule is with Chelsea, how quickly or how slowly, rather, and safely, we need to bring her back.’

It comes as New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns, today revealed a new mural dedicated to the Matildas’ 2023 Women’s World Cup campaign. 

Kerr is one of 18 players featured on the Mural and occupies a large proportion of the canvas. The work was completed by artist Kirthana Selvaraj and is due to be installed at the Accor Stadium. 

Speaking at the event, Minns did not hold back in delivering his backing for the Australian star.

‘I want to make it absolutely clear that we love Sam Kerr. She is absolutely fantastic,’ he said.  

‘No matter what happens, her image will be right here in Accor Stadium for future generations. She has acted like an absolute inspiration to the next generation. And let’s face it, she put a smile on all of our faces during that World Cup.

‘So we love Sam.’

The April friendlies will be a chance for the Australians to exact Asian Cup revenge after a disastrous quarter-final exit loss to South Korea in the 2022 tournament.

It was the Matildas’ worst finish at an Asian Cup, with South Korea finishing runners-up to China.

Sermanni is likely to be at the helm of the two friendlies as FA continues its search for a permanent candidate to lead the Matildas at the home 2026 Asian Cup and to the 2027 Women’s World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

‘We do want to give that new coach as long a runway as possible,’ Johnson said.

‘The reality in women’s football now is coaches are locked into contracts – it’s not as simple as just going and tapping someone on the shirt and they come the next day.

‘I can assure you that we are talking to candidates at the very highest level.’