Major update in Sam Kerr court case – and what it means for the Matildas superstar facing charge of allegedly racially abusing a police officer
- Matildas skipper Sam Kerr will appear in court in February
- Allegedly racially abused a police officer in January 2023
- The preliminary hearing, scheduled for May 20, has been canceled
- Kerr, 30, will plead not guilty at London’s Kingston Crown Court
Sam Kerr’s trial for alleged racist abuse of a police officer will continue next year after a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 20 was canceled.
Matildas captain Kerr and her legal team, led by leading criminal lawyer Grace Forbes, were due to appear at Kingston Crown Court in London on Monday to fight claims that the 30-year-old insulted, threatened or alarmed a police officer while returned. home in a taxi after a night out with her fiancé Kristie Mewis on January 30, 2023.
The case – in which Kerr will plead not guilty – will now go to trial for four days from February 3, 2025.
A clerk at the court in London said this News Corp: ‘All problems between the parties have now been resolved.
“The next date we have for the case is the trial date of February 3 next year.
The preliminary hearing scheduled for May 20 in London for Matildas captain Sam Kerr (right) has been canceled
It means Kerr’s case, in which she is accused of racially abusing a police officer, will officially go to trial in February next year.
‘The judge administratively agreed that this was the case. Monday’s hearing is no longer necessary.”
The development follows three delays in support of the prosecution against Kerr, including CCTV footage showing her alleged racist tirade.
Kerr is said to have called PC Stephen Lovell a ‘stupid white bastard’ – with Kerr’s legal representatives denying she used the word ‘bastard’, instead calling the officer a ‘stupid white cop’.
Kerr’s lawyer Grace Forbes previously requested CCTV footage from outside Twickenham police station and inside their custody suite as evidence.
It is understood PC Lovell was called to the scene at Twickenham over a taxi fare dispute after the superstar footballer spent the evening celebrating an FA Cup win over Liverpool – where she scored a hat-trick for Chelsea.
Kerr also reportedly vomited in the taxi and was arrested and interviewed at the time.
Her legal team has argued that Kerr was the victim of an abuse of process after it took a year for her charges to be filed.
Kerr is currently recovering from a torn cruciate ligament sustained during a training camp in Morocco earlier this year
On May 20, they also tried to have the criminal charge of racial harassment dropped.
Kerr will not be required to attend the hearing in person in February next year.
Kerr, who is recovering from a torn ACL from a training camp in Morocco, did not disclose her arrest to Football Australia and later competed in the 2023 World Cup on home soil.
If convicted, Kerr could face a maximum prison sentence of two years or be deported from the UK.