Football Australia has pledged to support Matildas captain Sam Kerr through the aftermath of her high-profile court case and her long-awaited return from injury.
Kerr walked free from a London court on Tuesday after being found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer.
FA released a statement on Wednesday morning, acknowledging the verdict while committing to support Kerr as she progresses towards a return from her knee reconstruction.
The statement referenced "behavioural standards and expectations", but did not address whether Kerr's position as captain would be affected, or if she was considered to have brought the game into disrepute through the incident.
The Chelsea star was charged after calling a police officer "f***ing stupid and white" late in an hour-long altercation at Twickenham police station in the early hours of January 30, 2023.
That followed a taxi journey that went sour when a drunk Kerr vomited out of the window.
She and fiancee Kristie Mewis said they believed the driver had kidnapped them and they feared for their lives, with the American international kicking out a back window in an attempt to escape the vehicle.
The altercation with police turned heated after it became clear the officers did not believe their telling of events.
FA were blindsided when the charge came to light in March 2024.
The governing body has not punished or sanctioned Kerr, who has been sidelined with the ACL tear since January 2024.
"Football Australia acknowledges today's not guilty verdict regarding Sam Kerr and welcomes Sam's statement," FA said in Wednesday's 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.
"Throughout this period, Football Australia has remained committed to supporting Sam and will continue to do so as she focuses on her footballing career, rehabilitation from injury and return to play.
"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.
"Football Australia will reflect with Sam on learnings from this matter and we will continue to provide appropriate support for her moving forward.
"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."
Tom Sermanni, who has been serving as the Matildas' interim head coach since September, flagged last week he expects Kerr to be back playing in March.
Kerr is hoping to move on and focus on her injury recovery.
"I can finally put this challenging period behind me," Kerr said in a statement.
"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 the jury unanimously agreed."
Kerr, 31, has not played for Chelsea for more than a year since suffering her injury at a training camp in Morocco.
The world-class striker is Australia's record goal scorer and has been captain since February 2019.
