Australian soccer star Sam Kerr has said she is "focused on getting back on the pitch" after being found not guilty of racially harassing a British police officer.
Ms Kerr was acquitted of all charges at Kingston-on-Thames Crown Court in London on Wednesday afternoon.
Her fiancee, American soccer player Kristie Mewis, broke down in tears watching on from the public gallery.
In a written statement following the verdict, Ms Kerr stressed she didn't intend to insult or harm Metropolitan Police Constable Stephen Lovell when she called him "stupid and white, amid a dispute over a taxi ride in January, 2023.
"Following today’s not guilty verdict, I can finally put this challenging period behind me," she said.
"While I apologise for expressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening, I have always maintained that I did not intend to insult or harm anyone and I am thankful that the jury unanimously agreed.
"I would like to thank my partner Kristie, my family, friends and all the fans for their love and support, especially those who attended court each day.
"I am fully focused on getting back on to the pitch and look forward to an exciting year ahead for me and my family."
Departing the dock for the final time, with a friendly smile, Ms Kerr told the court officer she hoped to never see them again, before hugging her family.
She also gave a thumbs-up to her lawyer, Grace Forbes.
Football Australia to continue to support Kerr
Football Australia acknowledged Sam Kerr's not guilty verdict in a statement.
"Sam has been a key figure in Australian football for many years, and we recognise the significant pressures that this matter has brought to Sam, Kristie, her family, and everyone involved, including the impact it's had on the game," the statement read.
It added that Football Australia will continue to support Kerr during her injury recovery in the coming months.
In terms of the Matildas captaincy, the FA did not make clear whether Kerr will continue in the role, but rather that the FA will "reflect with Sam on learnings from this matter".
"Football Australia invests heavily in building the behavioural standards and expectations of all involved with our game, especially for all our national team players, where leadership comes with added responsibilities on and off the field," the statement read.
"We look forward to Sam's return to the pitch and her continued contributions to both her club and the Matildas on the world stage."
Jury took four hours to make decision
On leaving the court she said nothing to waiting media.
She had pleaded not guilty to one charge of racially aggravated harassment last year and spent much of the trial defending herself in the witness stand.
The jury considered its verdict for four hours before acquitting Ms Kerr.
The Metropolitan Police released a statement saying it respected the jury's decision.
When the question of who would pay for legal costs was raised, Judge Peter Lodder KC said that Ms Kerr's behaviour "contributed significantly to the bringing of this allegation".
He said that was not a comment on the jury's verdict.
Ms Kerr's legal team has made no application for costs.
In the week-long trial, the jury was asked to consider if she intended to harm the policeman with her words, whether they did cause him "harassment, alarm or distress" and if the words were racially motivated.
The prosecution argued Ms Kerr was "very angry" and drunk when she made the comment, which it argued was a deliberate attempt to harm Constable Lovell.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC also argued the statement was clearly racially motivated.
The policeman told the court that being called "stupid and white" "upset" him, before reiterating his second statement, in which he said he felt "humiliated", "shocked" and "belittled".
The 31-year-old accepted calling Constable Lovell "stupid and white", saying she expressed herself "poorly".
She told the court she was trying to make a comment about "power" and "privilege" and believed that the officers were treating her differently because of her skin colour on the night of the incident in January 30, 2023.
Ms Kerr's lawyer, Grace Forbes, questioned why Constable Lovell only made mention of how being called "stupid and white" made him feel in a second witness statement, submitted nearly 11 months after the incident took place.
She accused him of making up the impact of her words to get a criminal charge to stick, something he denied.
Following the verdict, Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland released a statement saying that officers perform a "challenging job and are often subjected to various forms of abuse as they discharge their duty".
"The matter was fully investigated with evidence presented to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who made the decision to charge," she said.
"A jury has found Kerr not guilty and we respect their verdict."
Taxi ride dominates trial
While the trial was focused on Ms Kerr's words, both the prosecution and defence spent hours pulling apart a 34-minute police body-cam video of her interaction with officers.
Ms Kerr told the jury that she hailed a black cab in the early hours of January 30, 2023, to go home after a night out.
After hailing the London black taxi, she said she was sick out of the window of the cab shortly after the journey began.
The pair told the court that as soon as Ms Kerr was sick, the driver locked the windows and doors and began driving erratically.
They said they thought they had been taken "hostage" by the driver and were in fear of their lives.
The court heard the driver called police, concerned about the behaviour of his passengers, and was advised by the operator to drive to the nearest police station.
Shortly before arriving at Twickenham police station, in south-west London, the court heard one of the taxi windows was smashed.
In the police body camera footage, Ms Mewis admitted to kicking it out but said it was only because she was scared and wanted to escape.
The recorded interaction sees police push for the pair to pay for the damage to the taxi window, the fare and the cleaning fee for Ms Kerr's sick.
They declined to pay for the broken window saying they have done nothing wrong.
Ms Kerr admitted that she was drunk and "embarrassed" by her behaviour.
She could be heard swearing throughout the interaction, talking about "white privilege" and calling police officers "irrelevant".
On being called irrelevant, Constable Lovell was recorded saying, "so are you" to Ms Kerr.
At another point, he tells Ms Kerr to "calm yourself down young missy".
Under cross-examination, both Constable Lovell and Ms Kerr admitted that he could have handled themselves better.
Throughout the video, Ms Kerr implored officers to "listen to the recording" in the taxi, as she tried to tell them that they had been held against their will.
None of the officers believe the women's claims.
The court was told that officers never swept the vehicle for a camera, instead taking the driver's word for it that he didn't have one.
Ms Kerr told the trial that she felt that officers were "antagonising" her in the station and not believing her version of events.
Officers said they didn't believe the pair when they say they called emergency services from the taxi, but a recording of a call by Ms Kerr played in court confirmed that she had.
At the culmination of the clip, Ms Kerr calls the officers "f***ing stupid and white".
She was arrested for racially aggravated harassment and criminal damage for the broken taxi window, despite her partner admitting to breaking the window.
The criminal damage charge was dropped a few hours later, after she transferred 900 pound ($1,796) to the driver for the smashed window.
Ms Kerr is captain of the Australian women's soccer team, the Matildas, and is the country's all-time leading goal-scorer.
She plays for Chelsea Football Club in the UK's Women's Super League but hasn't played for her country or club in more than a year, after injuring her knee.
