Two Matildas greats have placed their backing behind star striker Sam Kerr, claiming that there is ‘no reason why the Australian should not captain her country’.
On Thursday, Football Australia (FA) refused to be drawn on the subject of her playing future as her high-profile court case continues in South West London.
The 31-year-old is currently standing trial in Kingston Crown Court over allegations of causing the racially aggravated harassment of a British police officer in January 2023.
Earlier in the week, footage was played to the court appearing to show the Chelsea striker shouting and swearing at PC Stephen Lovell at Twickenham police station during a heated dispute before calling him ‘stupid and white’.
She and her fiancée Mewis, who are expecting a baby boy in the coming months, had allegedly been travelling home from a night out when they were taken to the police station by the taxi driver after one is understood to have thrown up in the back of the taxi, while another had smashed the cab’s window.
Kerr, who hails from East Fremantle, admitted on Wednesday that she had been left feeling ’embarrassed’ as she watched the footage back.
Sam Kerr is standing trial in the United Kingdom over charges of racially aggravated harassment
The 31-year-old gave evidence yesterday after the court was shown a clip of her calling a police officer ‘stupid and white’
Kate GIll (second from left) has backed Kerr to retain the captaincy, calling Kerr an ‘exceptional person’
But she also stated that the officer had failed to listen to her and Mewis, who plays for West Ham when the couple told police that they had become concerned that the taxi driver had tried to abduct them. She denied intending to cause PC Lovell alarm or distress.
Kerr has not played football for either Australia or Chelsea in over a year after she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) that has kept her out of action since December 2023.
FA chief James Johnson avoided commenting on whether the footballer will hold on to the captaincy when she is next available for selection, stating at a media event in Sydney this week: ‘Once we complete the trial, then we’ll have a holistic view of what’s happened.’
But Kerr’s former team-mate and co-captain Kate Gill, believes that Kerr should ‘definitely’ retain the armband.
‘She’s the first person to acknowledge if she’s done something wrong and made a mistake,’ Gill said, as she hailed Kerr for being an ‘exceptional human being’.
Alongside Clare Polkinghorne, Gill led the Matildas between 2013 and 2014, making 86 appearances for the Aussies, returning 41 international goals. After retiring in 2016 she went on to become a joint chief executive at Professional Footballers Australia – the country’s players’ union.
Kerr has not played football for either Australia or Chelsea in over a year after she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) that has kept her out of action since December 2023
Former Matildas star Joey Peters, who won 110 caps for Australia between 1996 and 2009, threw her backing behind Kerr too stating she had ‘full admiration’ for the Chelsea star
‘She’s got morals about her, so it’s hard to question her from that kind of area.’
‘It’s hard for us to all sit in judgment when we don’t have access to the full facts and understand what happened and how Sam was made to feel in that moment.
‘There should be no reason why she shouldn’t captain her country.
‘She wears her heart on her sleeve, she loves playing for her country, she loves captaining her country, and she’s given her some very inspirational and fantastic sporting moments.
‘We shouldn’t forget that.’
Former Matildas star Joey Peters, who won 110 caps for Australia between 1996 and 2009, threw her backing behind Kerr too.
‘I just have full admiration for Sam Kerr and what she’s done throughout our game,’ she said.
‘What we’re hearing about the case, I don’t think it takes away anything from the quality person that she is.
Kerr has made 128 appearances for Australia since 2009 and in that time has returned 69 goals
‘She has disrupted the world of football, and we can’t expect her to be quiet and sit back and be a ‘nicey-nicey girl’ because she’s not that at all on the pitch. She’s lethal, so for her to stick up for herself off the field, for me personally, I 100 per cent back her.’
Kerr has made 128 appearances for Australia since 2009 and in that time has returned 69 goals.
Kerr notably captained Australia to their best-ever finish at an Olympic Games in 2020, where they finished fourth.
She’d go on to join Chelsea from Chicago Red Stars in 2019 and has set the Women’s Super League alight, scoring 75 goals for the Blues and win three consecutive league titles.
‘I can’t imagine the pressure that she’s under with her public profile. She’s in this pressure cooker and delivered so much for our game and continues to do that, and we should hold her in the highest regard whatever happens because we all make mistakes as humans,’ Peters added.
‘In Sam Kerr’s case, she’s an absolute champion of our game and should be treated as that in her home country for sure.
‘It’s not that I don’t care what she’s (allegedly) done, but in this particular instance, we’ve got to protect her and cheer her on.’
