Chelsea striker Sam Kerr was found not guilty on Tuesday of causing racially aggravated harassment after calling a British police officer “stupid and white.”
A jury at Kingston Crown Court in London cleared the Australian captain over the incident in southwest London on 30 January 2023.
Kerr, 31, and her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, had been out drinking when a taxi driver took them to Twickenham Police Station, alleging they refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them vomited and that one had smashed the car’s rear window.
At the station, Kerr allegedly became “abusive and insulting” towards officer Stephen Lovell, but the jury deliberated for over four hours before delivering a not guilty verdict.
Judge Peter Lodder noted that Kerr’s own behaviour contributed to the allegation but ruled that it had a significant bearing on costs.
During the trial, Kerr admitted she regretted her choice of words but denied using “whiteness as an insult.” She claimed the officer had used “power and privilege” over her and that she felt “dismissed” when explaining how she and Mewis had been “trapped” in the taxi.
Prosecutors originally decided not to charge Kerr, but a review led to further evidence and a second statement from Lovell nearly a year later, which described feeling “shocked, upset, and humiliated.”
Kerr, who has played for Chelsea since 2020, is currently sidelined with a knee injury.