Football Australia says it will ‘reflect’ with Sam Kerr after she was found not guilty in UK court

Sam Kerr could be back on the field for Chelsea as early as next month now she has been cleared by a UK court of racially harassing a police officer.

And she will return to play for Australia but if she returns as the team’s skipper remains unclear.

Kerr said in a statement after the verdict she was “fully focused on getting back on to the pitch” after being sidelined with an ACL injury since January last year and now enjoying a massive legal win.

Football Australia remained tight-lipped during this saga over whether Kerr would retain her leadership role and, despite being found not guilty by a jury, the evidence heard about Kerr’s behaviour will harm her reputation.

Today FA said they welcomed the result and would “reflect with Sam on learnings from this matter”.

It did not say Kerr would remain as the Matildas captain.

“Sam has been a key figure in Australian football for many years, and we recognise the significant pressures that this matter has brought to Sam, Kristie, her family, and everyone involved, including the impact it’s had on the game,” it said.

“Throughout this period, Football Australia has remained committed to supporting Sam and will continue to do so as she focuses on her footballing career, rehabilitation from injury and return to play.

“Football Australia invests heavily in building the behavioural standards and expectations of all involved with our game, especially for all our national team players, where leadership comes with added responsibilities on and off the field. Football Australia will reflect with Sam on learnings from this matter and we will continue to provide appropriate support for her moving forward.

“We look forward to Sam’s return to the pitch and her continued contributions to both her club and the Matildas on the world stage.”

Interim Matildas coach Tom Sermanni, a strong supporter of Kerr’s, said earlier this month he expected her to play in the UK Super League with Chelsea in March, meaning she could be back with the Matildas by April for a series of international friendlies against South Korea in Australia.

But after more than a year out of the national side, which desperately missed her at the Olympics, the FA may decide she is no longer fit to be the captain given what she admitted saying.

Kerr twice called a male officer “f***ing stupid and white” towards the end of an hour-long altercation at Twickenham police station in the early hours of January 30, 2023, after a taxi driver claimed she and her pregnant fiancé Kirsty Mews had refused to pay for damage caused to his cab, including a cleaning fee for Kerr vomiting after a drunken, late night out.

Last week FA chief James Johnson refused to comment on how the forward’s return to the pitch will be handled or whether she will hold on to the captaincy.

“Once we complete the trial, then we’ll have a holistic view of what’s happened,” he said.

Sermanni did not name Kerr in his squad for Sermanni for the SheBelieves Cup fixtures in the USA later this month and refused to speculate as to whether Kerr would remain the team’s captain.

“I think it’s a case of waiting to see what happens and move on from there,” he said last week.

Sermanni, however, is confident the 128-cap international will be ready to play as soon as March.

“She’s still injured, she’s not ready to play again,” Sermanni said.

“Our physio was over at Chelsea and got some video of her doing some fairly strong running.

“She’s in the process of coming back, but I would still suggest, from an injury perspective, it will probably be sometime in March before she’s back on the field.”

The April friendlies will be a chance for the Australians to exact Asian Cup revenge after a disastrous quarter-final exit loss to South Korea in the 2022 tournament.

It was the Matildas’ worst finish at an Asian Cup, with South Korea finishing runners-up to China.

With AAP