A year later, authorities charged Kerr with committing a “serious racist crime” under the country's public order law, police said. The incident allegedly took place in Twickenham, near Kerr's home in south-west London.
Kerr pleaded not guilty to the charges at a pretrial hearing Monday, prosecutors said.
The 30-year-old striker is one of the highest-paid and high-profile players in women's football, and a national hero in her native Australia, where she helped popularize what was once considered a niche sport there.
Kerr has scored 99 goals in 128 matches since joining Chelsea in 2019. She was runner-up to Spain's Aitana Bonmatti at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony last year.
She was Australia's flag bearer at the coronation of King Charles III and, despite her injury, helped whip up the national Matildas into a frenzy, drawing record crowds to the Women's World Cup last summer.
Kerr didn't do that Comment publicly On the accusations.
Football Australia chief executive James Johnson and women's national team coach Tony Gustafsson told a news conference they did not learn of the charges until Tuesday morning local time.
“Our focus remains on supporting all our players, on and off the field,” Football Australia said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the situation and provide support as appropriate.”
Chelsea and Kerr's attorney, Grace Forbes, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kerr tore her anterior cruciate ligament during a training camp in Morocco in January, an injury that is expected to rule her out for the remainder of the 2023-24 Women's Super League season, and possibly the Paris Olympics, for which the Matildas qualified last week.
