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Australian football captain Sam Kerr has pleaded not guilty to racially aggravated harassment of a police officer in London more than a year ago, but will face trial on the charges, prosecutors in the United Kingdom have said.
The 30-year-old striker, who plays club football for Chelsea in London, was charged with causing a police officer harassment, alarm or distress during an incident in Twickenham, southwest London, on January 30 last year, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
“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,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Monday.
Kerr, one of the world’s most recognisable female footballers and a sporting idol in her home nation, was charged on January 21, almost a year after the incident was alleged to have occurred.
The Chelsea forward, who on the day before the incident scored a hat-trick against Liverpool in the FA Cup at Chelsea women’s home ground Kingsmeadow, is due to appear in court in February next year.
The 30-year-old pleaded not guilty via video link at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, British media reported.
Kerr denied the charge at a plea and trial preparation hearing at Kingston upon Thames Crown Court on Monday, the PA news agency reported.
