Chelsea on Tuesday condemned homophobic abuse directed toward star striker Sam Kerr after she and her fiancee, US international Kristie Mewis, announced they were expecting a baby.
The 31-year-old Australia captain made the announcement on social media alongside pictures of the couple.
In response, they faced what Chelsea described as “unacceptable and hateful homophobic comments.”
Photo: AP
“There is no place in society for any form of discrimination and we will not accept any abuse directed towards our players, staff or supporters,” the Women’s Super League club said in a statement. “We are extremely proud to be a diverse, inclusive club that celebrates and welcomes people from all cultures, communities and identities.”
Chelsea women’s coach Sonia Bompastor called the abuse “crazy,” but said she is focusing on supporting Kerr.
“This is just unacceptable to have these kinds of comments, especially in 2024,” Bompastor said at a pre-match news conference ahead of yesterday’s UEFA Women’s Champions League match against Celtic. “It’s just crazy for me to understand how people can react like this.”
“I just want to focus on the positives and give all my support to Sam and Kristie. We are really proud and really happy for them,” she said. “As a mum I cannot think about anything else. As a woman, to have the opportunity to become a mum, that’s the best news you can have in your life.”
Chelsea Pride, an LGBTQ+ supporters’ group, said it had been “heartbreaking and infuriating” to see so many hateful comments online.
England women’s coach Sarina Wiegman wished Kerr and West Ham midfielder Mewis, who were engaged last year, well in the face of the backlash.
“Unfortunately that is part of our world I guess, which it should not be,” Wiegman said. “Very, very disappointing. I’m really happy for them so congratulations. I hope they are really happy, they look really happy and I hope everything goes well.”
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS