Chelsea striker’s apology ‘enough’ and will face no disciplinary action says manager Bompastor

Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor says striker Sam Kerr’s apology is enough and the club will not be taking disciplinary action following her court case.

Kerr, who is currently out injured, was found not guilty of causing racially aggravated harassment after calling a Metropolitan Police officer “stupid and white” following an incident in Twickenham on January 30, 2023.

After the incident, the 31-year-old apologised “for expressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening”.

Bompastor said: “Sam made a statement, she apologised and I think that is enough.

“Everyone can make mistakes and that’s what you learn from and that’s how you move forward.

“What she was facing last week was hard enough for her so the only thing we want to do as a club is support her.”

Kerr, who scored 95 goals in 122 appearances for Chelsea since 2019, has not played since suffering a serious knee injury at a training camp in January 2024

Bompastor said it was “difficult to give a precise time frame” for Kerr’s return, but said she is “progressing well” in training.

The trial heard Kerr and her partner Kristie Mewis were driven to Twickenham Police Station by a taxi driver who complained that they had refused to pay clean-up costs after Kerr was sick, and Mewis had smashed the vehicle’s rear window.

Kerr said she and her partner had feared for their lives and in an expletive-laden exchange, accused one of the police officers of being “stupid and white”.

The Chelsea striker, who made the comments to PC Stephen Lovell, did not deny using the words “stupid and white” but denied it amounted to a racial offence.

“Who she is doesn’t reflect what I heard in the court and what I was reading in the newspapers,” Bompastor said.

“Sam, she’s a really shy person and she just wants to live a life, she doesn’t like to be in the light, shining. She’s a really normal person and she likes to be quiet.”

Bompastor, who said she had been in contact with Kerr during the trial, added: “We really know her, we are probably, along with her family, the ones who know her the most.

“It was difficult to see her in that situation. We are family and we were really supporting and I’m really glad the verdict was positive and now she can move forward.”