LONDON - The captain of the Australian women’s football team, Sam Kerr, has been found not guilty of racially abusing a British police officer after a dispute with a cab driver.
Kerr, who has Indian ancestry, called officer Stephen Lovell “stupid and white” after police were called following a drunken dispute with a cab driver in the early hours of Jan 30, 2023.
Kerr and her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, had been out drinking when they were driven to Twickenham Police Station by a taxi driver who complained they had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them vomited, and one of them had smashed the vehicle’s rear window.
At the police station, prosecutors said, Kerr became “abusive and insulting” towards police officer Stephen Lovell, calling him “stupid and white”.
A jury returned the not guilty verdict on Tuesday after deliberating for more than four hours since the previous day.
The 31-year-old, one of the world’s top female strikers who plays for Chelsea in the Women’s Super League, accepted saying the words attributed to her but denied one count of racially aggravated harassment.
Her lawyer argued she was making a comment about power and privilege. Kerr gave evidence last week that she felt police treated her differently because of the colour of her skin.
Kerr showed no emotion in the dock as the verdict was delivered.