EXCLUSIVE
The father of Matildas captain Sam Kerr has brushed off questions about his daughter’s plight as she faces a criminal charge of racially harassing a London police officer.
Roger Kerr appeared stressed when he arrived at the coastal Perth home he shares with the World Cup star’s mother Roxanne on Wednesday.
The onetime professional Australian Rules player and coach refused to comment on his daughter’s legal situation and shrugged off questions about how she was coping as he publicly dealt with the scandal for the first time.
‘Yep,’ he said when approached by Daily Mail Australia. ‘Oh, no comment.’
Matildas captain Sam Kerr’s father has refused to discuss his daughter’s criminal charge of racially harassing a London police officer. Roger Kerr is pictured on Wednesday outside the Perth home he shares with Sam’s mother
Kerr’s parents bought their four-bedroom house at North Coogee for $1,150,000 in 2017 after moving from Fremantle, where they raised their four children.
The family is so close that Sam bought a vacant block of land fronting North Coogee’s South Beach for $940,000 last year so she could build a townhouse near her parents.
On Tuesday morning, Daily Mail exclusively revealed that Kerr will face a criminal trial in February next year after being accused of racially harassing a police officer.
The 2018 Young Australian of the Year will seek to have the charge, which stemmed from an alleged dispute over a taxi fare, thrown out of court.
Kerr – who reportedly earned $3.3million last year – comes from a famous sporting family previously better known for their achievements in Australian Rules than soccer.
Kolkata-born Roger, whose mother was Indian, played in the WAFL for East Fremantle and then with Port Adelaide in the SANFL.
Kerr’s brother Daniel won an AFL premiership during a 220-game career with the West Coast Eagles where he starred in the midfield with greats including Chris Judd and Ben Cousins.
The Kerr family is so close that Sam bought a vacant block of land fronting North Coogee’s South Beach for $940,000 last year so she could build a townhouse near her parents. Roger, Roxanne and Sam are pictured in 2022
The Kerr siblings are also related to retired AFL footballer Shaun McManus who played 228 games for Fremantle and Con Regan who ran out for East Fremantle 262 times.
Roger Kerr has previously acknowledged his daughter is now undoubtedly the family’s biggest star.
‘I am blessed,’ he told the Port Adelaide Football Club’s website during last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
‘Daniel playing at West Coast kept me going… now Sam. I think they both have me covered now.’
Kerr’s other two older siblings, Levi and Maddi, were not into sport but the future Olympian grew up playing backyard Australian Rules, cricket and soccer with Daniel.
The Chelsea striker appeared in a London court on Monday accused of using insulting, threatening or abusive words that caused alarm or distress to the officer in Twickenham on January 30 last year.
Mr Kerr pulled up outside his house in a Volkswagen with a cigarette in his mouth, before tearing up a box for recycling and bringing garbage bins in off the road
It has since emerged her legal team will return to court on April 26 with the aim of avoiding a four-day criminal trial.
Court documents have revealed Kerr’s lawyers plan to argue abuse of process by prosecutors after it took almost 12 months for their client to be charged.
If that is unsuccessful, Kerr’s charge will be heard in court on February 2 next year, with two police officers and other witnesses to give evidence.
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 to enter a not guilty plea.
While the full details relating to the alleged offence remain unclear, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson revealed what allegedly sparked the incident.
‘The charge relates to an incident involving a police officer who was responding to a complaint involving a taxi fare on 30 January 2023 in Twickenham,’ he said.
‘She was charged on 21 January with a racially aggravated offence under Section 4A [of the] Public Order Act 1986.’
Kerr, the 2018 Young Australian of the Year, will seek to have the charge, which stemmed from an alleged dispute over a taxi fare, thrown out of court. She is pictured with her parents
On Tuesday it emerged Kerr had kept the charge a secret from the Matildas and Football Australia for six weeks.
Speaking that afternoon, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson confirmed he had not been told about the charges before the news broke that morning.
‘This morning, first time I heard about it was this morning,’ he said.
‘I was informed this morning and obviously was surprised and had some time to talk to the federation [Football Australia] about it.’
FA chief executive James Johnson said the country’s peak soccer body was also left in the dark.
‘I woke up this morning like everyone else did to the news,’ Johnson told reporters in Adelaide.
‘And that is when Football Australia found out about this unsettling event.
‘We are trying to get to the bottom of it at the moment.
‘We have got our own questions that we’d like to know, we have got to find out what actually happened.’
Kerr, who is sidelined with a serious injury, and her club Chelsea have made no comment about the charge.
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