Chelsea star arrives at court over allegations of racially aggravated harassment
14 January 2025, 15:12 | Updated: 14 January 2025, 15:43
Chelsea footballer Sam Kerr arrived at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday ahead of the delayed trial over her alleged racial abuse of a police officer two years ago.
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The Australian international is alleged to have insulted, threatened, or caused alarm or distress to a police officer while returning home in a taxi following a night out with her fiancee Kristie Mewis.
The alleged incident took place in January 2023 but the 31-year-old was only charged with racially aggravated harassment in January 2024 before hurdles in the case delayed the trial until February 3 this year.
Kerr is set to plead not guilty in the preliminary hearing, which was due to take place in May of last year, and will attempt to see the charge dismissed in a bid to avoid next month's trial.
She allegedly labelled PC Stephen Lovell a “stupid white b*****d”. Her legal representatives deny she used the word “b*****d”, instead allegedly calling the officer a “stupid white cop”.
Kerr's barrister Grace Forbes previously requested CCTV footage from outside Twickenham police station and inside their custody suite be submitted as evidence.
It is understood PC Lovell was called to the scene at Twickenham following a dispute over a taxi fare after Kerr had spent a night out celebrating an FA Cup win over Liverpool in which she scored a hat-trick.
Kerr reportedly vomited in the taxi before being arrested and interviewed.
Her legal team argued she was subject to abuse of process after it took a year for her to be charged.
Kerr denied the charge at a plea and trial preparation hearing at Kingston Crown Court in March 2024 before delays in support of the prosecution meant a preliminary hearing was cancelled in May.
The trial is due to begin on February 3 and last multiple days, but Kerr, who is expecting her first child with Mewis, is not obligated to attend.
Read more: Kate keeps promise in emotional return to hospital where she had cancer treatment
The Chelsea star continues her long recovery after rupturing her ACL in January 2024 but Blues head coach Sonia Bompaster has revealed she could make a return to the pitch in March.
She has scored 99 goals in 128 matches since joining Chelsea in 2019, and is her country's all-time record goalscorer with 64 goals in 125 games.
