Soccer star on trial, accused of ‘racially abusing’ white officer

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Australia women’s soccer captain Sam Kerr went on trial in a London court on Monday, accused of racially abusing a white police officer after getting into a dispute with a cab driver.

Kerr, who plays for Chelsea in the Women’s Super League, allegedly insulted the officer, Stephen Lovell, ‘by reference to his ethnicity,’ prosecutors said as her trial began at Kingston Crown Court.

The 31-year-old has pleaded not guilty to one count of racially aggravated harassment.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors that Kerr and her partner Kristie Mewis, who plays for West Ham United, called a taxi in the early hours of Jan. 30, 2023 after a night out.

‘Their cab journey did not go well,’ Emlyn Jones said. ‘The cabbie ended up phoning the police to complain about their behaviour, reporting that they were trying to smash a window’.

The cab driver took them to a police station instead of Kerr’s home, after which Kerr allegedly insulted Lovell, Emlyn Jones said.

He added that there was no dispute what Kerr said to Lovell, but told jurors the issues they had to decide were what Kerr meant and how it made Lovell feel.

Kerr is considered one of the world’s top female strikers, having scored 199 career goals across the Women’s Super League, Australia’s W-League and the National Women’s Soccer League.

She is also Australia’s all-time top scorer with 69 goals in 128 appearances, but has been sidelined since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January 2024.

Her trial is expected to conclude this week.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin, editing by William James)