EXCLUSIVE
The father of Matildas captain Sam Kerr has played down questions about his daughter’s plight as he faces a criminal charge of racially harassing a London police officer.
Roger Kerr looked stressed as he arrived at the Perth coastal home he shares with the World Cup star’s mother Roxanne on Wednesday.
Kerr pulled up outside the house in a Volkswagen with a cigarette in his mouth, before smashing a recycling box and removing rubbish bins from the road.
The former Australian Rules professional player and coach declined to comment on his daughter’s legal situation and played down questions about how she was coping as he publicly addressed the scandal for the first time.
“Yes,” he said when approached by Daily Mail Australia. ‘Oh, no comment.’
The father of Matildas captain Sam Kerr has refused to discuss his daughter’s criminal charge of racially harassing a London police officer. Roger Kerr is pictured Wednesday outside the Perth home he shares with Sam’s mother.
Kerr’s parents bought their four-bedroom home in North Coogee for $1.15 million in 2017 after moving from Fremantle, where they raised their four children.
The family is so close that Sam bought a vacant lot off South Beach in North Coogee for $940,000 last year so he could build a house near his 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 arose from an alleged dispute over a taxi fare, dismissed.
Kerr, who reportedly earned $3.3 million last year, comes from a famous sporting family that was previously better known for its achievements in Australian rules than football.
Born in Calcutta and whose mother was Indian, Roger played in the WAFL for East Fremantle and then with Port Adelaide in the SANFL.
Kerr’s brother Daniel won the AFL premiership during a 220-game career with the West Coast Eagles, where he starred in midfield with greats such as Chris Judd and Ben Cousins.
The Kerr family is so close that Sam bought a vacant lot off South Beach in North Coogee for $940,000 last year so he could build a house near his parents. Roger, Roxanne and Sam appear in the 2022 photo.
The Kerr brothers are also related to retired AFL footballer Shaun McManus, who played 228 games for Fremantle, and Con Regan, who ran for East Fremantle 262 times.
Roger Kerr has previously acknowledged that his daughter is now, without a doubt, the biggest star in the family.
“I feel blessed,” she said on the Port Adelaide Football Club website during last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
‘Daniel playing on the West Coast kept me going… now Sam. I think you both have me covered now.’
Kerr’s two other older siblings, Levi and Maddi, didn’t play sports, but the future Olympian grew up playing Australian rules, cricket and soccer in his backyard with Daniel.
The Chelsea forward appeared in a London court on Monday accused of using insulting, threatening or abusive words that caused alarm or distress to the officer at Twickenham on January 30 last year.
Kerr pulled up outside his house in a Volkswagen with a cigarette in his mouth, before smashing a recycling box and removing rubbish bins from the road.
It has since emerged that his legal team will return to court on April 26 in a bid to avoid a four-day criminal trial.
Court documents have revealed that Kerr’s lawyers plan to argue abuse of process by prosecutors after it took almost 12 months for their client to be charged.
If this is unsuccessful, Kerr’s case will be heard in court on February 2 next year, with two police officers and other witnesses to give evidence.
The 30-year-old woman, who was wearing a white T-shirt under a black suit jacket when she appeared at Kingston Crown Court via video link, spoke only to confirm her identity and plead not guilty.
While all the details surrounding the alleged crime are still unclear, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson revealed what allegedly sparked the incident.
“The charge relates to an incident involving a police officer responding to a complaint relating to a taxi fare on January 30, 2023 in Twickenham,” he said.
“On January 21 she was charged with a racially aggravated offense under section 4A (of the) Public Order Act 1986.”
Kerr, the 2018 Young Australian of the Year, will seek to have the charge, which arose from an alleged dispute over a taxi fare, dismissed in court. She appears in the photo with her parents.
It emerged on Tuesday that Kerr had kept the position secret from the Matildas and Football Australia for six weeks.
That afternoon, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson confirmed that he had not been informed of the charges before the news broke that morning.
“This morning, the first time I heard about this was this morning,” he said.
“I was informed this morning and obviously I was surprised and had some time to speak to the federation (Football Australia) about it.”
FA chief executive James Johnson said the country’s peak football body was also left in the dark.
“I woke up this morning like everyone else to the news,” Johnson told reporters in Adelaide.
“And that’s when Football Australia learned of this disturbing development.
‘We are trying to get to the bottom of it at the moment.
“We have our own questions we would like to know, we have to find out what really happened.”
Kerr, who is sidelined with a serious injury, and his club Chelsea have not commented on the charge.