Sam Kerr was one of the top female soccer players in the world. She was found not guilty of racially aggravating harassment of a law enforcement officer on Tuesday.
Kerr, an Australian striker and English club Chelsea player, admitted that she had called Police Constable Stephen Lovell, “stupid” and “white”, during a heated discussion at a London police station following a night of partying in January 2023. However, she denied it was a criminal charge.
The verdict was reached after a jury of 12 members had deliberated for more than 4 hours on the 7th day of the trial, at Kingston Crown Court.
Kerr posted a statement on Instagram saying, “I can finally put behind me this difficult period after today’s not-guilty verdict.” “While I apologized for my poor expression on what was an extremely traumatic evening, it is important to note that I never intended to hurt or insult anyone. I am grateful that the jury unanimously agreed.”
The taxi driver claimed that Kerr and Kristie Mewis – a U.S. player for the English soccer team West Ham – were out drinking and refused to pay the clean up costs after a member of the couple became sick and smashed the rear window of the car.
Kerr claimed that she was “trapped” in the taxi and feared for her safety. She is accused of being abusive and insulting to Lovell, calling him “stupid” and “white”, at the police station. Kerr admitted regretting the way she had expressed herself, but denied calling Lovell a “white person” as an insult.
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Football Australia welcomed Kerr’s statements and said that it would speak to her about the incident.
Football Australia released a statement saying that it invests heavily to build the behavior standards and expectations for everyone involved in our game. This is especially true for our National Team players who have additional responsibilities both on and off the pitch. “(We will) reflect with Sam on the learnings from this incident and we will continue providing appropriate support for Sam moving forward.”
“Throughout this time, Football Australia has been committed to Sam, and will continue to support her as she concentrates on her footballing, rehab from injury, and return to playing.”
Kerr has been with Chelsea since 2019 and scored 99 goals over 128 matches. The London club is the English champion and top contender for Women’s Champions League.
She has not played since January 2024, when she sustained an ACL during a warm weather training camp in Morocco with Chelsea.
Kerr will return to Australia soon, just in time for a couple of international friendlies in April against South Korea as part of the AFC Asian Cup 2026 preparations.
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