Prosecutors in the trial of Chelsea striker Sam Kerr, who called a police officer ‘stupid and white’, have asked the jury if perceptions would be different had she said ‘stupid and black’.
The Australia international is on trial charged with causing racially-aggravated harassment to PC Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London on January 30 2023.
It’s alleged that 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 they had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them was sick, and that one of them smashed the vehicle’s rear window.
At the police station, Kerr is alleged to have become ‘abusive and insulting’ towards PC Lovell, calling him ‘f***ing stupid and white’.
Kerr denies causing racially-aggravated abuse towards PC Lovell.
In his closing speech, prosecutor Bill Emlyn-Jones KC asked the jury: ‘What if PC Lovell had been a black male and what if she had called him f***ing stupid and black?
‘Now of course that is not a fair question, because black and white is not a fair swap.
‘Calling a white man is not as loaded, so you can’t just turn it around, it is not as easy as that.
Chelsea star Sam Kerr (in the black coat) denies causing racially-aggravated abuse after calling a police officer ‘f***ing stupid and white’
Kristie Mewis, the partner of Chelsea and Australia striker Sam Kerr arrives at Kingston Crown Court
‘In the heat of the moment this was an insult delivered in reference to race and that is what the law prohibits.
‘The test for you is the same regardless of the ethnicity in question. She was insulting him and, at the time, she was hostile to him by reference to his race.
‘So the fact you will be able to think of much worse examples of racial aggravation is irrelevant.
‘Would we consider this a racially aggravated insult if she had said stupid and black? Of course you would, it wouldn’t even be contestable.’
During the trial, the court heard character references from Chelsea teammates and former head coach Emma Hayes.
Carly Telford, a goalkeeper who played for Chelsea from 2017 to 2022, described Kerr as a ‘close friend’ and an ‘introverted extrovert’.
She said: ‘On the pitch you see the skills, the back flips [but] away from pitch, she’s quite quiet and shy. Quite reserved.’
She described her as ‘generous’ with her money and said she often considered how she could cover costs for the younger players on nights out ‘to make sure they can celebrate with us’.
Kerr, 31, denies causing racially aggravated abuse towards PC Stephen Lovell at Twickenham Station on January 30, 2023
Sam Kerr ‘s teammates and former manager Emma Hayes (above) has thrown their support behind the Chelsea star
Grace Forbes, defending Kerr, read out statements from Ms Hayes, Chelsea captain Millie Bright and midfielder Erin Cuthbert.
Ms Hayes, who is the former Chelsea manager and current head coach of the US football team, said Kerr was an ‘exemplary role model’ and described her as ‘one of the warmest, friendliest, kindest and most considerate players’.
She added: ‘She is calm and level-headed and mindful. She comes from a wonderful family. She has the biggest heart, she is a big kid at heart, I think she does well to manage everything that is thrown at her and the expectation that is placed on her.
‘Her protective nature is always to look after the people around her. She has a wonderful heart, and she is a big kid at heart. And I think she does well to manage everything that is thrown at her and the expectation that is thrown at her.’
Ms Bright described Kerr as a ‘truly special human’, while Ms Cuthbert said she was a ‘great friend and teammate’ who ‘has a unique knack of seeing the best in everyone’.
Kerr, who has not played since rupturing her ACL in January last year, told a court earlier this week that she called a policeman ‘stupid and white’ because he didn’t understand his privilege and treated her differently because of the colour of her skin.
Kerr said PC Lovell failed to listen to her and fiancée Kristie Mewis when they told him they believed a taxi driver had tried to abduct them.
The Australian captain made the comments when the cab driver took them to a police station after she vomited out of his window following a night out.
She is accused of racially abusing Met Police officer Stephen Lovell (pictured in a court sketch giving evidence on Tuesday)
Kerr revealed in court that she and fiancée Kristie Mewis, the West Ham midfielder, were expecting a boy after announcing their pregnancy last November
Kerr is one of women’s football’s most prolific footballers, captaining Chelsea and playing for the Australian international side (left and right)
Kerr said the driver began to ‘drive dangerously’ after she was sick, leaving the pair distressed – and making her think of the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021. They kicked out the rear window in a bid to escape.
The cabbie rang the police and drove to Twickenham Police Station, where he was met by PC Lovell and a colleague, who arrived at the station at the same time in a marked car.
Giving evidence at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, Kerr told the jury Sarah Everard had been ‘prominent’ in her mind following her murder, causing her to fear being ‘in the control of a stranger’.
The court heard they had been out for dinner at Amazonico in Mayfair and at a party in Bagatelle. Kerr had been unable to summon an Uber, her preferred means of getting a taxi, prompting them to hail a black cab on Oxford Street.
But after she put her head out of the window when she felt sick, she said the driver ‘rolled it up’ and began to ‘drive dangerously’.
She also revealed in court she and fiancée Kristie Mewis – an American midfielder playing for West Ham – were expecting a boy, having announced their pregnancy in November, and plan to get married at the end of the year.
The trial previously heard evidence from PC Lovell, who said he had not been aware of who Kerr was at the time he was called to Twickenham Police Station.
He told the trial he felt ‘belittled and upset’ as he was subjected to the alleged rant.
The court heard that the matter had been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service after PC Lovell provided a statement. But it initially concluded there was not enough evidence to formally charge the star.
Kerr would then play for Australia in the Women’s World Cup over the summer of 2023. The country was also hosting the tournament.
Scotland Yard asked the CPS to re-open the case in October. Prosecutors took further statements from the constable and authorised police to charge the star in December 2023.
She said in a police interview of the ‘stupid and white’ remark: ‘I definitely do not recall saying that.’
The trial continues.
