Robbie Slater’s suggestion that Sam Kerr’s goalscoring record for Australia “is not on par” with that of his male colleague Tim Cahill has been called “sexist” by both Kerr and Candice Warner. Images: Fox Sports/Getty Images
Australian soccer star Robbie Slater has defended a memorable column in which he explained Sam Kerrs The record for most goals scored by an Australian was “not equal” to Tim Cahill’s previous benchmark after Kerr called it “literally the sexiest thing you could say”. Slater wrote the column back in January 2022, saying it “just doesn’t work” to draw a comparison between the two.
The Split provoked a violent reaction at the time, but this has resurfaced following the release of a documentary on the Matildas’ preparation for the World Cup. In one episode, Kerr discusses the article, prompting Warner to put it back on Fox Sports.
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However, Slater has confessed to the play, describing it as “balanced.” However, he acknowledged that the harsh criticism had not only come from readers and football fans, but had not been well received by his own daughters either. But Warner challenged him after acknowledging the piece, saying he was “out of line” and should have reconsidered since.
“Robbie, I don’t really agree with you,” Warner said. “I thought that was wrong. They have two young daughters. I found that incredibly sexist.”
Slater said he had no regrets for the column but acknowledged that his daughter – a big Kerr fan – didn’t particularly like his opinion that there was no comparison between Cahill’s performances for the Socceroos and Kerr’s for the Matildas.
“I have no regrets about the column because I stand by separating Tim Cahill from Sam Kerr and saying that Tim is our all-time Socceroo goalscorer and Sam is our all-time women’s top scorer,” he said. “I don’t think that was out of the line.
“But if I’ve listened to my 9-year-old daughter, I may have done something wrong. She came up to me and said, ‘Dad, what have you done with Sam Kerr, she’s so much better than you?’ She has a poster of Sam Kerr on her wall.
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“I had to answer a few questions. But I think the gap was balanced.”
Amusingly, Slater was interrupted by a text message from his daughter as he continued to suggest separating the performances of men’s and women’s players. He read that she had texted him jokingly to say that he was “still a loser” because of it.
Chelsea aren’t worried about Sam Kerr’s injury fears
Meanwhile, Chelsea FC have tried to allay injury concerns over Kerr after the striker barely played half an hour in the 7-0 win against Everton. Kerr scored a 25th-minute header on Sunday but was pulled back seven minutes later, sparking injury concerns for Australia’s talismanic captain less than two and a half months before their home Women’s World Cup.
But manager Emma Hayes said Kerr was dealing with leg cramps after being ill on Saturday night. “Sam was sick last night,” Hayes said after Sunday’s 7-0 win over Everton that put Chelsea second in the English Women’s Super League.
Chelsea have assuaged an injury worry for Sam Kerr after their 7-0 win over Everton. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
“She decided to play, but her calf was cramping, so we decided to knock her out.”
Kerr, who has 10 goals and four assists from 18 WSL games this season, had spent Saturday attending the coronation of King Charles III in London, carrying the Australian flag in the procession to Westminster Abbey.
With AAP
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