One of Australia’s top sports agents explains why he believes Sam Kerr is in DEEP trouble with Football Australia over bombshell legal scandal

A leading Australian sports agent has declared Matildas superstar Sam Kerr to relinquish his team captaincy after being charged with racially assaulting a police officer.

Kerr, 30, will fight to have the charges dropped in court next month but the agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity for commercial reasons, was baffled that Football Australia was unaware of its legal scandal until it became public on Tuesday .

“It is standard protocol for athletes to communicate this type of information (immediately),” he told Daily Mail Australia.

“Failure to do so could well be a breach of contract. Of course there are two sides to every story, but the (racism) charge is serious.’

The agent in question – who manages several household names – said if Kerr were his client, he would have immediately informed Football Australia of the alleged incident, who could then determine the next course of action.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson (pictured) said the governing body was blindsided by the bomb development involving Kerr

When pressed for a statement on the matter, a Football Australia representative said: ‘we will not be providing a running commentary on the matter… we have made our comments (on Monday) and that is it for now.’

Football Australia CEO James Johnson confirmed in Adelaide on Monday that he was blindsided by the bomb development, which was reportedly sparked by a taxi fare dispute.

“I woke up (this morning) like everyone else did to the news,” Johnson told reporters.

“And then Football Australia heard about this disturbing event.

‘We are currently trying to get to the bottom of it. ‘We have our own questions that we would like to know, we need to find out what really happened.

“But we also want to say that there is a process going on in Britain and that process must be allowed to take its course.”

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson added he was ‘surprised’ to hear his captain Kerr was charged with racially aggravated harassment of a police officer in London.

Kerr, Australia’s most famous sportswoman, is accused of using abusive, threatening or insulting words that caused alarm or distress to a police officer during an alleged incident in Twickenham, south-west London, on January 30 last year.

The Chelsea goal machine appeared via video link at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, where she confirmed her identity and entered a not guilty plea to the charges.

On January 30 last year – the same day Sam Kerr allegedly racially abused a police officer in London – the superstar striker was on cloud nine.

The Chelsea goal machine (pictured right, with fiancee Kristie Mewis) had just scored a hat-trick against Liverpool as the Blues won 3-2 to advance to the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup

Not long after full-time, a beaming Kerr posted an image on Instagram from the ground with Mewis, saying ‘onto the next round’

Kerr was told she is required to take part in a four-day trial, scheduled for February next year, in which two police officers are expected to testify.

It has since emerged that Kerr’s legal team will return to court on April 26 with the aim of avoiding a criminal trial in 2025.

Court documents also revealed they plan to plead abuse of process by prosecutors after it took nearly 12 months for Kerr to be charged.

If that fails, Kerr’s charges will be heard in court on February 2 next year.

Judge Judith Elaine Coello said it was clear the footballer would defend that she did not mean to upset the police officer.

“I understand that the defense is that she did not intend to worry, harass or hurt the officer, that (her conduct) did not amount to that and that it was not racially aggravated,” the judge asked Kerr’s attorney, Grace Forbes.

The charge comes as Kerr, who has scored 99 goals in 128 appearances for Chelsea since signing for the club in 2019, is sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained during the club’s training camp in Morocco in January.

Kerr has won four Women’s Super League titles with Chelsea, as well as three FA Cups, two Women’s League Cups and the Women’s Community Shield in 2020.

Last November, Kerr and fellow professional player Kristie Mewis, 32, who currently plays for West Ham United, confirmed they were engaged.