Craig Foster has apologised to Matildas superstar Sam Kerr for his comments about her alleged remark to a UK police officer that saw her charged with racial harassment.
Australians were stunned last week when Daily Mail exclusively revealed Kerr had been charged with racially harassing a London police officer.
The words Kerr used are disputed and have been variously reported as her having called the constable a ‘stupid white b*****d’, ‘stupid white PC’ or ‘stupid white cop’.
Her legal team are now reportedly prepared to argue she used the words ‘stupid white cop’.
The charge stems from an alleged dispute over a taxi fare in January last year when Kerr is accused of having used insulting, threatening abusive words that caused alarm or distress.
Craig Foster has issued a lengthy apology to Sam Kerr following her alleged racism saga
Kerr is accused of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer and will face trial over the matter in 2025
Kerr has spoken only to plead not guilty and confirm her identity in court, facing a four day trial that could lead to her being deported or even jailed.
Foster on Thursday said Football Australia should consider stripping Kerr of the captaincy if she was proven guilty of the charge, but has since had a change of heart on the matter.
‘Like many, I mistakenly thought that comments that references any colour and were discriminatory, demeaning or hostile were a form of racism. I apologise to Sam for that mistake,’ Foster wrote in a lengthy statement posted on X.
Foster went on to say that racism cannot be experienced by white people as they are not part of a marginalised group, citing the Diversity Council of Australia’s definition of racism.
‘Does that equate to double standards when the same terms of phrases are used against marginalised groups, is the question,’ Foster wrote.
‘The answer is no. Because the power differential and therefore impact are vastly and fundamentally different.
‘Those of us who aren’t from a minority background cannot possibly know how it feels to be told that we don’t belong, don’t speak the language, don’t look right, to ‘go back where you came from’ or to have faced intergenerational racism.’
The former Socceroo said definitions of racism ‘were not designed to protect me as a white, Anglo, Australian male nor a white police officer who has even greater legal, and racial power’.
Foster said the entire saga has exposed a misconception about racism in Australia
Foster said he is committed to making sure that no other Australian faces personal, institutional or systemic racism
‘That’s because I cannot experience racism in Australia,’ Foster stated
‘My right to speak is not questioned, I am in the cultural, racial, and linguistic majority, aren’t attacked for my name, colour, head dress or religion as many are, and am made to feel that I have a right to belong which is why, like many of you, I am deeply committed to making sure that no other Australian faces personal, institutional or systemic racism.’
Foster said the power of sport is that it makes us confront ‘difficult, contentious and challenging issues’
He finished by writing that the journey to a better future isn’t easy and that mistakes along the way will be inevitable.
