Sam Kerr’s legal team reveal the surprising way they will fight charges that she racially harassed a cop – as revealed the superstar’s next day in court

Matildas skipper Sam Kerr will seek to have her charge of racist harassment of a police officer thrown out of court after it was revealed the alleged incident was sparked by a taxi fare dispute.

On Tuesday morning, Daily Mail exclusively revealed that the Matildas captain will face a criminal trial in February next year over the alleged incident.

The Chelsea forward appeared in court on January 30 last year charged with using abusive, threatening or insulting words that caused alarm or distress to the officer in Twickenham, south-west London.

It has now emerged that her legal team will appear in court again on April 26 with the aim of avoiding the criminal trial set for February next year.

The Matildas and Chelsea star is accused of using insulting, threatening or insulting words that caused alarm or distress to a police officer

Court documents have revealed they plan to plead an abuse of process by prosecutors after it took almost 12 months for Kerr to be charged.

If that fails, Kerr’s charges will be heard in court on February 2 next year, with two police officers and other witnesses testifying.

The 30-year-old, who wore a white T-shirt under a black suit jacket as she appeared at Kingston Crown Court via videolink, spoke only to confirm her identity and enter a not guilty plea to the charges on Monday.

While the full details surrounding the alleged crime remain unclear, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson revealed what led to the incident in question.

“The charge relates to an incident involving a police officer responding to a taxi fare complaint on January 30, 2023 in Twickenham,” he said.

It was revealed on Tuesday that Kerr had kept the Matildas and Football Australia in the dark since she was charged on January 21 this year.

‘She was charged with a racially aggravated offense under Section 4A on January 21 [of the] Public Order Act 1986.’

It was revealed on Tuesday that Kerr had kept the charges secret from the Matildas and Football Australia for six weeks.

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that he had not been informed of the allegations before the news broke that morning.

“I heard about it for the first time this morning,” he said.

‘I was informed this morning and was obviously surprised and had some time to talk to the federation [Football Australia] about the.’

FA chief executive James Johnson said the country’s top football body also remains in limbo.

“I woke up this morning like everyone else did with the news,” Johnson told reporters in Adelaide.

“And then Football Australia heard about this disturbing event.

‘We are currently trying to get to the bottom of it.

A sports marketing expert says the 30-year-old striker (pictured with fellow footballer Kylian Mbappé) is at risk of a ‘quite dramatic drop’ in her lucrative sponsorship deals

Kerr (pictured with fiancée Kristie Mewis) will be questioned by Football Australia, according to the agency’s CEO James Johnson

“We have our own questions that we would like to know, we need to find out what really happened.”

Kerr and Chelsea have not commented on the charges at the time of publication. The striker remains out with a serious knee injury.

She risks a “quite dramatic drop” in her lucrative brand deals as a result of the scandal, a sports marketing expert has said.

According to Dr Tom Heenan, lecturer in sport and Australian studies at the Monash Intercultural Lab, Faculty of Arts, Kerr – who reportedly earned $3.3 million last year – could face further seismic payday losses.

“There will be a marketing spin-off from this, her reputation has been damaged, especially as the Matildas have been placed on such a high pedestal, the fall will be quite dramatic,” he said. News Corp.

‘The other aspect of this is that Kerr is out of the game (she is recovering from a knee operation that will sideline her for several months) and there has been a rise in the profile of the other players.

‘The Women’s World Cup did a lot to emphasize that this was a team, and not just Sam Kerr.

“I think the team’s reputation will remain intact, but Kerr’s reputation will suffer.”