‘Looking good babe’: Sam Kerr’s next move becomes clear

Sam Kerr has shared photos for the first time since she was acquitted at her racial harassment trial and the images say it all.

Sam Kerr has shared photos for the first time since she was acquitted at her racial harassment trial — and they will put a smile on Matildas fans’ faces.

The star striker was back at training with Chelsea teammates on Thursday (AEDT) with the football club sharing photos of her back in action.

The Australian’s Chelsea team manager Sonia Bompastor said the team will not take any further disciplinary action after the 31-year-old faced a seven-day trial at Kingston Crown Court.

During the trial, ugly footage of Kerr’s heated exchange with a London police officer was spread around the world, leading to widespread calls for the Perth-product to be stripped of the captaincy of the national team.

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Football Australia (FA) released a statement on Wednesday announcing the governing body will remind Kerr of the “behavioural standards” expected of national team players.

The statement did not address the possibility of Kerr being stripped of the captaincy.

FA also communicated no punitive action would be taken.

Chelsea has followed that lead.

It’s one of many reasons Kerr was all smiles in front of the camera.

Kerr shared four photos from the official Chelsea FC Women Instagram account with her 1.7 million followers, captioning the gallery with a simple happy face emoji.

One of those photos shows her posing with Chelsea football club teammates Guro Reiten and Millie Bright.

Samantha Kerr is seen beaming on the pitch. Picture: Instagram

Samantha Kerr returns to football training following her not guilty verdict. Picture: Instagram

Samantha Kerr poses with Chelsea football club teammates Millie Bright and Guro Reiten. Picture: Supplied

Positive signs for Samantha Kerr’s ACL recovery. Picture: Instagram

The post was flooded with comments from Kerr’s teammates and those close to her.

Her fiance Kristie Mewis posted: “Looking good babe”.

Her former Chelsea coach Emma Hayes also commented with a love heart emoji.

Kerr’s mum Roxane, Mewis’ sister Sam and Chelsea captain Bright also commented on the post.

Matildas star Steph Catley responded with a flexed bicep and love heart emojis.

Mackenzie Arnold wrote: “Here she is”.

Teagan Micah wrote: “Love to see it”.

Emily van Egmond wrote it was a “peach of a day”.

Caitlin Foord also wrote: “Here she is”.

The photos say it all that Kerr’s life is returning to normalcy.

Bompastor said no further disciplinary action needed to be taken after Kerr gave an apology for her behaviour in a statement shared on social media.

Hear from Sonia ahead of our back-to-back clash with Everton this weekend.⤵️💬

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) February 13, 2025

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

“Every man, every woman 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.”

Bompastor said she was “really happy” for Kerr after a “tough week”.

“I think, as you can imagine, it was a tough week, difficult week for her and for her family,” she said

“Since I joined Chelsea (in May last year) I really know Sam as a player but also as a person, and I was really surprised for her to be involved in that.

“Who she is doesn’t reflect what I heard in the court and also what I was reading in the newspapers and everything.

“We really know her, we are probably, with her family, the ones who know her the most and it was difficult to see her in that situation. We were really supporting her and I’m really glad the verdict was positive and now she can move forward.”

Bompastor sent messages of support to Kerr because she and the Chelsea players “care about Sam”.

Chelsea won’t take any action against Sam Kerr. Picture: Justin Tallis / AFP

Bompastor also gave a sobering update about Kerr’s ongoing recovery program.

It has been 13 months since Kerr suffered an ACL knee ligament injury.

Despite this she is still on a modified training program away from teammates.

Bompastor previously hinted that Kerr could be available for selection sometime in February or March, but when asked for a definitive return date, she admitted that it remains uncertain.

“It’s difficult to give a really precise time frame for Sam, but we are really happy to have her back on the pitch with us, with the team,” Bompastor said.

“She is progressing with her rehab and going in the right direction, but it’s difficult for me to give a really precise timeframe.”

She won’t play for the Matildas in this month’s She Believes Cup tournament in the US.

Kerr could yet make her Matildas return when the national team takes on Korea in two games in April.

Originally published as ‘Looking good babe’: Sam Kerr’s next move becomes clear