‘Out of line’: Candice Warner, Robbie Slater in prickly exchange

Candice Warner and Robbie Slater have butted heads on live TV before the Socceroos great’s daughter texted in to end the exchange.

Robbie Slater and Candice Warner didn't see eye-to-eye on the former's controversial column about Sam Kerr. Picture: Supplied

Candice Warner and Robbie Slater have butted heads over the Socceroos great’s now-infamous Sam Kerr challenge.

The 58-year-old on Tuesday night continued to defend his position over a controversial newspaper column comparing Kerr and Socceroos icon Tim Cahill.

Slater wrote in an opinion piece for The Daily Telegraph in January 2022 that Kerr’s record haul of international goals for the Matildas should not overshadow Cahill’s place in history as the Socceroos’ greatest goalscorer with 50 goals to his name while wearing the green and gold.

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The former Premier League winner attracted criticism for the article and Kerr’s angry response to the article features in the Disney+ documentary series surrounding the Matildas.

In the Matildas: The World at Our Feet documentary Kerr refers to Slater’s comment as “literally the most sexist thing you could say — not equal.”

Warner called Slater out for the comment when the pair featured on Fox Sports’ The Back Page on Tuesday night.

Slater doubled down on his comment and explained he thought he had kept Kerr and Cahill separated from each other when praising them for their achievements.

Warner, however, took Slater to task.

“Robbie, I don’t really agree with you,” Warner said.

“I thought it was out of line. You’ve got two young daughters. I thought it was incredibly sexist.

“What are you saying to young girls who might be aspiring [to be professional footballers]?”

Warner then followed up by asking if Slater regretted his column.

Robbie Slater doubled down on his controversial column surrounding Sam Kerr. Picture: Supplied

Slater replied: “I don’t regret the column because I stand by that I separated Tim Cahill from Sam Kerr and said Tim’s our greatest ever Socceroo goalscorer and Sam is our greatest ever women’s goalscorer.

“I don’t think that was out of line.

“But if I listened to my nine-year-old daughter, maybe I did do wrong. She came up to me and said, ‘Dad, what have you done to Sam Kerr, she’s so much better than you?’ She’s got a poster of Sam Kerr on the wall.

“I’ve had to answer some questions. But I think the column was balanced.”

Slater, who remains a “big fan” of Kerr, further explained his decision to pen the column before he was cheekily interrupted by a text from his young daughter.

“The whole conversation started when Sam scored a goal more, now she’s got much more, than Tim Cahill had scored for the Socceroos,” Slater said.

Candice Warner has also recently clashed with test legend Mitchell Johnson. Photo: Fox Sports, Brett Costello and Mitchell Johnson, AAP, Richard Wainwright.

“I just wrote a column separating the two. There’s A-League women’s, you’ve got A-League men’s, I don’t know, I just thought it was confusing everything. They’re all great, they’re both great.”

It was then that Slater paused to read out the text sent by his daughter Indigo.

“Hang on. Indigo, ‘You’re still a loser, dad.”

Slater also said he believes Kerr is the best player in the world and said the upcoming Women’s World Cup held in Australia, beginning in July, will be the biggest sporting event held in Australia since the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Slater also agreed with Fox Sports commentator Dan Ginnane’s suggestion that Kerr will be Australia’s biggest sporting star by the time the World Cup wraps up this year.

Warner, meanwhile, has been busy making headlines in recent weeks following a surprising war of words with Aussie test legend Mitchell Johnson.

Originally published as ‘Out of line’: Candice Warner, Robbie Slater in prickly exchange