Australia's renowned football captain, Samantha Kerr, is set to stand trial next year for allegedly racially aggravated harassment of a police officer.
The Chelsea striker appeared in court on Monday, March 4, accused of using insulting, threatening, or abusive words that caused alarm or distress to PC Lovell during an incident in Twickenham, southwest London, on January 30 last year.
The 30-year-old, who appeared at Kingston Crown Court via videolink, spoke only to confirm her identity and to enter a not-guilty plea to the charge.
She was informed that she was obliged to attend a four-day trial scheduled for next February, during which two police officers are expected to give evidence.
Judge Judith Elaine Coello noted that it was understood that the footballer's defence would be that her intention was not to upset the policeman.
"I understand that the defence is that she didn't intend to cause alarm, harassment, or distress to the officer, [her behavior] did not amount to it, and it was not racially aggravated," the judge asked Kerr's barrister, Grace Forbes.
The charge comes as Kerr, who has scored 99 goals in 128 matches for Chelsea since signing in 2019, is sidelined with a long-term anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained during the club's warm-weather training camp in Morocco in January.
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