Matildas interim coach Tom Sermanni wants the Matildas “performing at the level required” after naming his star-studded squad for two home fixtures against Korea in the wake of the poor showing at the SheBelieves Cup in February.
Injured star Sam Kerr remains sidelined having failed to return for Chelsea in two fixtures across the weekend, but her team did topple fellow Matildas star Mary Fowler’s Manchester City overnight.
Fowler was included in the 23-player squad, with midfielder Clare Wheeler set to make a return to the squad after being absent for the last two international windows due to injury.
Young defenders Courtney Nevin and Jamilla Rankin have both earnt recalls off the back of their recent club form in Europe, with Steph Catley to again wear the captain’s armband.
Mary Fowler has been named in the Matildas squad. Picture: Oli Scarff / AFPSource: AFP
The clashes with Korea in first Newcastle and then Sydney next week loom as crucial in preparation for the 2026 Asian Cup after a failure against rivals Japan in the February tournament in the US.
“This squad selection is about achieving the right balance – reintegrating players returning from injury and rewarding those who have been playing consistently well in clubland. It’s important to create continuity while also bringing in players who have earned their place through strong performances,” Sermanni explained.
Sam Kerr is yet to return for Chelsea. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
“We are fortunate to have a core group of players competing at the highest levels, whether it’s in the UEFA Women’s Champions League or major domestic competitions.
“Every match leading into the Asian Cup is an opportunity to finetune our approach, build cohesion, and ensure we are performing at the level required to take on Asia’s best during next year’s tournament.”
Kerr has not played for the Matildas since 2023 after suffering an ACL injury.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor confirmed that Kerr would not play for the team leading up to the international break and was unavailable to play for the Matildas.
“We will assess her on a week-by-week basis, and hopefully, after the international break, we will have a clearer understanding of her return,” Bompastor said.
Kerr injured her knee at a Chelsea training camp in January, 2024.
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The Matildas captain, who has always been so composed on the football field, proved throughout the seven days of her trial at Kingston Crown Court she is as cool a customer as they come.
Kerr made the comment while in the middle of a “heated exchange” with a London police officer in the early hours of January 30, 2023, after a harrowing taxi ride ordeal where she said she feared for her life. Kerr admitted in the trial she was “intoxicated” and had vomited.
The Chelsea striker showed no emotion as the jury handed down their verdict after deliberating for a touch over four hours.
Kerr simply looked down as she found out the verdict and gave a thumbs up to her lawyer after the judge had left. She then hugged wellwishers including members of her family.
News Corp Australia’s Sophie Ellsworth, who was in court, said that many of Kerr’s supporters in the public gallery broke down in tears as the verdict was read out – including her fiancee Kristie Mewis.
Not Kerr, however.
As the court heard ugly details about her behaviour during the fateful night she and Mewis went out partying on Oxford Street in an exclusive London district, Kerr is reported to have maintained her composure.
Court sketch of a pregnant Kristie Mewis in the witness box. Mewis is the partner of Sam Kerr. Photo: MB Solutions.Source: Supplied
Even as the court was shown 34 minutes of footage captured on police constable Stephen Lovell’s body camera — which showed her launching into a vulgar rant in the middle of her conversation with the officer at Twickenham police station in south-west London — Kerr held her emotions in check.
The only time the enormity of the trial got the best of her was when Mewis took the stand on Friday (AEDT), the ABC reports.
“The mask broke just once, when she was seen wiping away a tear as her pregnant fiancee Kristie Mewis gave evidence in the witness box,” the national broadcaster reported.
The American said the cab fracas was “like nothing I’ve experienced”.
“I’ve never driven a car that fast before. I immediately felt fear for my life,” the UK Press Association news agency reported her as saying.
“That was obviously very scary … I didn’t know if it was a kidnapping or if we were going to crash”.
Mewis said she deemed the taxi driver to be “dangerous” and there as “no reasoning with him”.
The court heard Mewis had broken a back seat window with her foot during the ordeal. It was the taxi driver who first made a telephone call to police.
New footage emerges from Kerr arrest | 01:55
When the pair were dropped at the police station by the taxi, Mewis said officer Lovell was “immediately dismissive”.
“We were saying we had been taken against our will, we couldn’t get out.
“He wasn’t believing what we were saying,” she said.
“In my opinion, (the police) were trying to change the story and make it into something it wasn’t.
“It felt a little bit like gaslighting … the story (they) repeated back was different or they were manipulating it back onto us.”
The West Ham star said Kerr was “speaking her truth” in the moment she called Lovell “stupid and white”.
“Subconsciously she felt that she was being treated differently. I’ve seen Sam be treated differently,” the 33-year-old told the court.
When asked by Judge Peter Lodder to clarify what she meant by “her truth”, Mewis said: “I think that she has been treated differently and spoken to differently for her whole life and I think that she was feeling the same thing that she has felt before and the things that I have seen.”
Mewis was reportedly overcome with emotion when speaking about Kerr’s character as a person.
Sam Kerr gestures towards police when speaking with police officer Lovell. Photo: The Australian.Source: Supplied
Asked by Kerr’s barrister, Grace Forbes, to describe her partner, an emotional Mewis replied: “Sam is so loving, she’s so humble, she would help anybody … that’s one of the things I love about her so much.”
Kerr told the court on Thursday (AEDT): “I believed (they) were treating me differently because of what they perceived to be the colour of my skin — particularly PC Lovell’s behaviour.
“The way he was accusing me of lying, and later arresting me for criminal damage even though Kristie said it was just her (who smashed the taxi’s window).
“At the time I thought they were trying to put it on me.”
In an extraordinary day in the stand Kerr casually revealed the sex of her yet-to-be-born child and dropped details of the couple’s wedding plans.
Mewis is due to give birth to their first child, a son, in May and the couple are planning to wed in December.
Kerr was challenged sharply by prosecution lawyer Bill Emlyn Jones and it was clear it was straining Kerr’s stoicism.
“Kerr has always had a swagger on the football pitch, but the witness stand stripped her of any bravado,” the football journalist wrote on Wednesday.
“She was exposed and under scrutiny in a way she had never been before. She was vulnerable. Kerr’s voice was quiet, shy-like. On several occasions she had to be asked to speak up. “I’m really trying,” Kerr said at one point.
Sam Kerr holds hands with partner Kristie Mewis at Kingston Crown Court. Photo by Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images.Source: Getty Images
“The forward managed to keep her emotions in check but Mewis, who is around six months’ pregnant, broke down on a couple of occasions while giving evidence.”
Kerr no longer needed to wear the mask when she walked out of Kingston Crown Court for the final time.
According to the ABC, Kerr turned to a court official as she left the dock for the final time and said with a smile: “I hope to never see you again”.
The smile, and any other form of emotion, was gone from her face shortly after when she walked down the courthouse steps guarded by a security figure and hopped straight into a black mini-van.
She did not respond to questions from reporters and cut through the mob of camera operators and journalists without speaking.
She has since posted a statement on social media.
“Following today’s not guilty verdict, I can finally put this challenging period behind me,” Kerr wrote.
“While I apologise for expressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening, I have always maintained that I did not intend to insult or harm anyone and I am thankful that the jury agreed.
“I would like thank my partner Kristie, my family, friends and all the fans for their love and support, especially those who attended court each day.
“I am fully focused on getting back on to the pitch and looking forward to an exciting year ahead for me and my family.”
The statement was punctuated with two emojis – a football and a baby bottle – showing where the Matildas star’s heart lies.
WARNING: This article includes language that some readers may find offensive
Explosive new video of Sam Kerr’s heated exchange with police has shown the Matildas captain launched into an ugly rant.
On a dramatic day inside Kingston Crown Court, Kerr’s fiance Kristie Mewis broke down in tears while Kerr also told the court she did not use “whiteness as an insult”.
Mewis, 33, took the stand on Friday morning (AEDT), accusing the police of “gaslighting” the couple and claimed she felt she was being “kidnapped” and “taken hostage” by a taxi driver.
One of the most startling moments of the trial came when new footage of Kerr’s exchange with police showed the Chelsea striker calling officer Stephen Lovell “irrelevant” on the night she is alleged to have called the police constable “f***ing stupid and white”.
You can watch the dramatic footage in the video player above
Kerr audio from taxi played in court | 00:56
Kerr is on trial charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to policeman Stephen Lovell during an incident in London in the early hours of January 30, 2023.
It is alleged that Kerr and Mewis had been returning from a night out partying when they became embroiled in a fracas in a taxi which ended up with the driver taking them to Twickenham police station in southwest London.
Video shows Kerr told Lovell: “Listen to the recording because I’ve got all the f***ing people in the world. And what’s your name?”
Footage also shows Kerr responded to one statement by saying: “File a police report, I’ve got f***ing Chelsea going on it because that is f***ed.”
Kerr’s fiance defends her character | 00:55
Sam Kerr speaks with police. Photo: The Australian and Getty.Source: Supplied
The 31-year-old footballer at one point launched into a rant, saying: “I will have the best lawyers, don’t you f***ing worry. Because I would never f***ing say no to paying.
“Listen to the recording. Listen to the recording. No, that’s f***ing bulls*** because he’s a f***ing liar. That’s bulls***.
“He’s a f***ing liar and they’re listening to some f***ing black taxi man — a black cab or whatever they’re called, white taxi man, or whatever they’re called — over us two women.
“That’s a f***ing lie. I would pay whatever. That’s a lie. Why are you listening to a taxi cab over us two women.”
She went on to say: “I’m going to f***ing call my lawyer. I’m over these c**ts.”
After being told by Lovell that calling a lawyer would be “irrelevant right now”, Kerr responded: “No. I’m calling my f***ing lawyer. Because this is a f***ing racial f***ing thing.
Sam Kerr called a police officer irrelevant. Photo: The Australian.Source: SuppliedSam Kerr gestures towards police. Photo: The Australian.Source: Supplied
“Because you are not letting me go because you are believing that guy out the front over 50 pounds?”
It is at that point in the released footage that Lovell tells Kerr: “You need to calm yourself down little missy”.
Kerr said she and Mewis did not “give a f***” about paying the costs to have the taxi cleaned.
However, later in the same video, Kerr is heard saying: “I’m not paying for f***ing some f***ing dodgy c**ts window”.
The cab driver has claimed they had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them vomited, and one of the two then smashed the cab’s back window.
Sam Kerr leaves Kingston Crown Court. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty ImagesSource: Getty ImagesKristie Mewis, the partner of Australian footballer Sam Kerr, leaves Kingston Crown Court on February 06, 2025 in Kingston upon Thames, England. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
Mewis takes stand
Taking the stand for the first time, a tearful Mewis said the cab fracas was “like nothing I’ve experienced”.
“I’ve never driven a car that fast before. I immediately felt fear for my life,” the UK Press Association news agency reported her as saying.
“That was obviously very scary … I didn’t know if it was a kidnapping or if we were going to crash”.
Mewis said she deemed the tax driver to be “dangerous” and there as “no reasoning with him”.
When the pair were dropped at the police station by the taxi, Mewis said Officer Lovell was “immediately dismissive”.
“We were saying we had been taken against our will, we couldn’t get out.
“He wasn’t believing what we were saying,” she said.
“In my opinion, (the police) were trying to change the story and make it into something it wasn’t.
“It felt a little bit like gaslighting … the story (they) repeated back was different or they were manipulating it back onto us.”
Kristie Mewis in the witness box. Picture: Priscilla Coleman/MB MediaSource: SuppliedKristie Mewis and Sam Kerr are expecting a child together.Source: Instagram
Kerr: ‘Whiteness as an insult’
At the police station, Kerr, who is mixed race, is alleged to have become “abusive and insulting” towards Officer Lovell, calling him “stupid and white”.
At Kingston Crown Court on Thursday, Kerr was asked by prosecutors if she was using Mr Lovell’s “whiteness as an insult”.
She responded: “No, that’s not what I meant”.
“I believed it was him using his power and privilege over me because he was accusing me of being something I’m not … I was trying to express that due to the power and privilege they had they would never have to understand what we had just gone through and the fear we were having for our lives,” she said.
The court had previously heard from Police Constable Stephen Lovell. Picture: Priscilla Coleman/MB MediaSource: Supplied
Asked if she was saying Mr Lovell was “stupid because he was white”, Kerr said: “No”.
The court heard on Wednesday that Kerr had told police “this is a racial … thing”.
When asked about these comments, Kerr said: “I believed (they) were treating me differently because of what they perceived to be the colour of my skin — particularly PC Lovell’s behaviour”.
“The way he was accusing me of lying, and later arresting me for criminal damage even though Kristie said it was just her (who smashed the taxi’s window).
“At the time, I thought they were trying to put it on me.”
She added on Thursday: “(It was) the way he was responding to me, cutting me off, names he was calling me, being dismissive.”
Kerr made her debut for current Women’s Super League champions Chelsea in 2020. She is currently out of action with a knee injury.
Matildas star Sam Kerr told a court she was treated differently by police “because of the colour of my skin” after “fearing for my life” following an incident with a taxi driver.
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It is alleged Kerr, 31, 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 the pair had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them was sick, and that one of them also smashed the vehicle’s rear window.
The court was told on Tuesday that Kerr had become “abusive and insulting” towards Lovell, calling him “stupid and white”.
But Kerr, giving evidence on Wednesday, said: “I believed (officers) were treating me differently because of what they perceived to be the colour of my skin – particularly PC Lovell’s behaviour.”
“The way he was accusing me of lying, and later arresting me for criminal damage even though Kristie said it was just her (who smashed the taxi’s window). At the time I thought they were trying to put it on me.”
FFA to wait for decision on Kerr | 02:20
Earlier on Wednesday (UK time) Kerr casually revealed the sex of her yet-to-be-born child and when she and fiancee Kristie Mewis plan to wed.
The Chelsea footballer also told the court she “feared for her life” when a taxi driver drove her and Mewis to a police station after allegations one of the couple smashed the car’s rear window after a drunken night out.
The couple had been celebrating prior to the incident and grabbed a cab to go home.
Kerr told a jury at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court on Wednesday that she had put her head out of the window when she began to feel sick before the driver “rolled it up” and began to “drive dangerously”.
Sam Kerr arrives at Kingston-Upon-Thames Crown Court. Photo by Leon Neal/Getty ImagesSource: Getty ImagesSam Kerr (right) arrives at Kingston-Upon-Thames Crown Court with her father Roger Kerr. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesRoxanne Kerr, the mother of Sam Kerr, arrives to support her daughter at Kingston-Upon-Thames Crown Court.. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
She said the alleged dangerous driving continued for 15 to 20 minutes.
“I was terrified for my life. Everything was going through my mind about being in a car with a stranger I deemed to be dangerous. There was no reasoning with him. It was his way or nothing.
“Kristie asked him to stop the car but there was no change to his driving. We had no idea where we were.
“Kristie was very distressed. She was crying and scared. I’ve never seen her like that before and it made me more scared,” Kerr said on the stand.
Kristie Mewis, the fiancee of Sam Kerr leaving Kingston-on-Thames Crown Court in London on Wednesday. Picture: Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
“I started to realise how serious the situation was. It put me in protective mode … he had the power over us … I deemed him to be dangerous because of the driving, but also because he could have taken us anywhere.”
Kerr said the pair tried to open the doors and windows several times, but they remained locked.
Fellow footballer Mewis, who plays for London side West Ham, eventually “kicked out (the window) with her boot,” which led Kerr to feel “relieved”, but she added: “We didn’t get out straight away as the car was still moving”.
Body-cam footage of Sam Kerr was played in court. Source: TwitterSource: Twitter
On Tuesday, the court was told Officer Lovell first saw Kerr as she crawled through the smashed taxi window outside the station.
A “heated” discussion about the incident ensued between Kerr and the police, during which she allegedly became “abusive and insulting” towards Lovell.
Bodycam footage was shown in court of Kerr calling a police officer “f***ing stupid and white” during her arrest at a police station.
During her time on the stand, Kerr also dropped a baby bombshell.
Last month, on social media, Kerr revealed that she and Mewis were set to be new mums. She posted an image showing Mewis with a noticeable baby bump declaring she was “26 weeks and glowing”.
But the sex of the baby wasn’t known. She set that straight in court.
“We are expecting a baby boy,” she told the jury after being asked about her relationship.
Mewis is due in May.
Kerr also said she and Mewis would wed in December. They became engaged in 2023.
The pair met in 2019 after Kerr had been in London for six months. She said she “slid into Mewis’ DMs (direct messages)”.
Kerr made her debut for current Women’s Super League champions Chelsea in 2020. She is currently out of action with a knee injury.
Kristie Mewis and Sam Kerr. Photo by Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images for Mission 44Source: Getty ImagesSam Kerr and Kristie Mewis will wed in December.Source: Supplied
Could Sam Kerr face jail time?
Kerr has pleaded not guilty to the offence of racially aggravated harassment to a police officer.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of 26 weeks in jail under UK law.
The offence also includes a maximum financial penalty of around $500 (£2500).
The damage to her reputation would be much more significant.Kerr is Australia’s highest paid female footballer and earned $3.3 million in 2023.
Will Sam Kerr remain captain of the Matildas?
Football Australia has refused to guarantee Kerr will remain captain of the national team.
“We understand that there will be some disappointment out there (from fans), but what we would ask is that we all wait out,” Johnson said on Wednesday.
“We know there’s a 30-second, 40-second clip out there but we also know there’s a 30-minute video out there which certainly we haven’t seen.
“What we need to do we need to give Sam the opportunity to go through the trial.
“Once we complete the trial, then we’ll have a holistic view of what’s happened.”
The date is August 20, 2023, and Sam Kerr is the biggest superstar in Australian sport.
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The Matildas captain is dancing on stage, grabbing a microphone from pop icon Nikki Webster in front of more than 5000 fans as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk prepares to gift the team the “Keys to the City of Brisbane” following their enthralling 2023 World Cup campaign.
It is this picture that makes Sam Kerr’s five-day trial at Kingston Crown Court in London so much more significant than the potential threat of six months imprisonment.
The charges relate to a drunken night out in January, 2023, where the 31-year-old was alleged to have caused criminal damage to a taxi before calling police constable Stephen Lovell “f***ing stupid and white.”
Football Australia boss James Johnson also asked for fans to wait until the end of the trial before making their own judgments.
Sam Kerr is congratulated by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo by Mark Metcalfe – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images.Source: Getty ImagesSam Kerr sings with Nikki Webster. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire.Source: News Corp Australia
“We understand that there will be some disappointment out there (from fans), but what we would ask is that we all wait out,” Johnson said on Wednesday.
“We know there’s a 30-second, 40-second clip out there but we also know there’s a 30-minute video out there which certainly we haven’t seen.
“What we need to do we need to give Sam the opportunity to go through the trial.
“Once we complete the trial, then we’ll have a holistic view of what’s happened.”
Kerr’s captaincy was called into question by Socceroos legend Craig Foster before he backflipped and apologised to her in March, 2024, when new claims about her comments were revealed.
Talkback radio segments on Wednesday were flooded with calls for Kerr to be stripped of the captaincy. 2GB host Ben Fordham promoted calls from listeners that said they were “disgusted” with Kerr and added she “can’t captain again”.
Her future with her English Super League club Chelsea has not come into any doubt.
Coach Sonia Bompastor said Kerr has her support, but added her knee injury is still keeping her away from teammates, forcing her to train on an individual program.
How has the Sam Kerr saga played out?
January 29, 2023: Sam Kerr scores a hat trick in the club’s FA Cup showdown with Liverpool at Kingsmeadow. The 3-2 win sees Chelsea progress to the fifth round of the competition.
January 30, 2023: Sam Kerr celebrates her performance with a night out with partner Kristie Mewis. Kerr mentioned earlier in the trial that she was “intoxicated”. It is alleged one of the women vomited in a taxi they booked to take them back to their London home.
Body-cam footage of Sam Kerr after taxi cab incident. Source: TwitterSource: TwitterSam Kerr arrives outside the Crown Court. Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images.Source: Getty Images
Kerr has alleged the driver acted “crazy” and refused to let them leave. The driver called police and drove to Twickenham Police Station where police allegedly noticed a broken window, glass on the ground outside the vehicle and damage to the plastic guard inside the taxi. Kerr is held in custody and speaks with Police Constable Stephen Lovell. Body camera footage shows her calling Lovell “stupid and white”. Footage also shows Kerr describing the taxi driver as a “f***ing liar” and a “stupid c**t”.
January 31, 2023: Kerr returns to Twickenham Police Station where she is formally interviewed by police constable Ryan Skinner for 20 minutes. Kerr tells Skinner she would say sorry if she was now able to say something to Lovell.
December, 2023: Lovell submits a second statement saying he was “shocked, upset, and (left) me feeling humiliated”. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) originally decided not to charge Kerr.
January 21, 2024: Kerr is charged with a racially aggravated offence under Section 4A Public Order Act 1986.
April, 2024: Hearings were delayed after the Crown Prosecution Service were unable to gather enough evidence, including CCTV footage, to cross examine the football superstar.
February 6: Sam Kerr is expected to give evidence in court.
Matildas star Sam Kerr is engaged to Kristie Mewis. Picture: InstagramSource: SuppliedThe couple confirmed the news in an exclusive interview, after Kristie was spotted wearing a stunning engagement ring. Picture: InstagramSource: Supplied
2025 will be the biggest year of Sam Kerr’s life
Sam Kerr and American partner Kristie Mewis in November announced they are expecting their first child together.
Kerr, 31, and Mewis, 33, have been together since 2021 and got engaged in 2023. Mewis confirmed they were engaged in November after several weeks of speculation fuelled in part by social posts featuring her wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger.
It is also a huge year for her on the field with massive doubts about the star striker’s ability to remain at her elite-level of performance after so much time on the sidelines.
She missed the entire 2024 calendar year after rupturing the ACL in her knee.
She was expected to have returned to training by now, but her recovery is taking longer than most serious knee injuries.
Kerr was not selected in the Matildas squad for the SheBelievesCup, however, Sermani stressed that was only because of her fitness.
Chelsea has also said Kerr is expected to return to training with her teammates soon.
A police officer told a London court on Wednesday (AEDT) that he was determined to pursue the prosecution of Chelsea and Australia football star Sam Kerr after she called him “stupid and white”.
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Kerr, 31, is charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to police constable Stephen Lovell during an incident in southwest London in the early hours of January 30, 2023.
The driver complained that they had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them had vomited, and that one of them had smashed the vehicle’s rear window.
The women told officers the driver had been “acting in a crazy way” by driving fast, repeatedly stopping and speeding up again, locking them in the car, and refusing to let them go for about 15 minutes, Kingston Crown Court heard.
Kerr’s alleged racial harassment shown | 00:50
Footage from Lovell’s body-worn camera was previously played to jurors, in which the Matildas captain told Lovell and another police officer that she and Mewis were “very scared” and “trying to escape” the cab when they damaged the vehicle.
At the police station Kerr, who is of mixed race, is alleged to have become “abusive and insulting” towards Lovell, using an expletive and calling him “stupid and white”.
Kerr accepts making the comments but denies that they amount to the charge. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) originally decided not to charge Kerr, the court heard.
Sam Kerr arrives at Kingston Crown Court on February 3. Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP.Source: AFP
It was put to Lovell that he only provided a statement alleging that Kerr’s comments had caused alarm or harassment after that decision.
In his first statement to the CPS, the officer made no mention of the “stupid and white” comment having an impact on him, the jury was told.
Prosecutors authorised the police to charge Kerr after Lovell submitted a second statement in December 2023 — 11 months after the incident.
He read a section of that statement to the court that said the comments made him “shocked, upset, and (left) me feeling humiliated”.
Grace Forbes, defending Kerr, asked Lovell whether he had been “determined to pursue” Kerr.
Lovell said “yes” and Forbes asked “through the criminal courts”? The officer said “yes” again.
Body-cam footage of Sam Kerr played in court. Source: TwitterSource: TwitterSam Kerr with girlfriend Kristie Mews. Picture: InstagramSource: News Corp Australia
She noted that prosecutors had originally found no evidence of harassment or alarm caused by Kerr’s comments, and suggested Lovell’s second statement described their effect “purely to get a criminal charge over the line”.
During re-examination by prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones, Lovell told the jury that Kerr’s words had made him feel “belittled and upset”.
Forbes challenged Lovell on whether he knew Kerr was a famous athlete at the time of the incident.
Forbes said to Lovell: he said: “I am going to suggest to you that you made an assumption that she was a troublemaker, she was difficult and that because of what she does for a living, that she was an arrogant person”
Lovell said he was not a football fan and did not know who Kerr was.
Kerr gives evidence
The court also heard Kerr’s claims she was ignored by police officers after telling them the taxi driver left her fearing for her life.
Lovell first saw Kerr that evening as she crawled through a smashed taxi window outside Twickenham Police Station, the court was told.
Kerr said the driver had been “acting in a crazy way” by driving very fast, repeatedly stopping and speeding up again, locking them in the car, and refusing to let them go for about 15 minutes.
A “heated” discussion about the incident ensued between Kerr and the police, during which the 31-year-old allegedly became “abusive and insulting” towards Lovell, calling him “stupid and white”.
During questioning by prosecutor Jones, Lovell told the jury that Kerr’s words had made him feel “belittled and upset”.
Sam Kerr’s trial is scheduled for five days. Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images.Source: Getty Images
Kerr, who joined Women’s Super League champions Chelsea in 2020, accepts making the comments, but denies that they amount to the charge.
In a police interview the following day, Kerr told the officer in charge that: “I was obviously intoxicated. I should not have been so front footed, but I was very threatened with how I felt,” she said in the interview played in court.
“I am a very honest person and I can honestly say I did not feel protected in that moment as a female.
“In that moment I was feeling very threatened because of one: How I was being treated, and two: For my life in that car”.
“I was in a taxi and I did vomit outside the window, and in that moment onwards the taxi driver became very aggressive and driving very dangerous, and had us both very scared.
“I actually pressed the emergency thing on my phone and spoke to someone and he (the driver) would not return us, drop us off — we wanted to pay whatever it was. He said we weren’t going to pay but that is not true at all.
“He literally was so dangerous and so scary and he had us both very afraid.”
The interview also included a telling admission from Kerr.
Kristie Mewis kisses Sam Kerr in a photo shared on Instagram.Source: SuppliedMatildas star Sam Kerr celebrating her engagement with Kristie Mewis.Source: Supplied
During the exchange with police constable Ryan Skinner, the officer conducting the interview, Kerr was asked if she would like to say anything to Lovell.
Kerr responded: “Just sorry I think, of course, I understand he was doing his job.”
Kerr said it was “very confronting” to only speak to three male officers despite just being with “a very dangerous man”, adding that she “definitely” would have preferred to speak with a woman in that situation.
During her police interview, Kerr claimed she could not recall which officer was Lovell, but said: “We spoke to three officers and honestly I didn’t feel very helped.
“We were both very scared, very upset and we didn’t feel like we, I guess, were believed, on arrival, and were kind of being – not forced – but told just behave.”
Kerr made her debut for current Women’s Super League champions Chelsea in 2020. She is currently out of action with a knee injury.
Kerr is expected to give evidence when the trial continues on Thursday morning (AEDT).
