The racism controversy surrounding soccer star Sam Kerr has taken another turn with a report that the Matildas captain denies calling a London policeman a “bastard”.

British tabloid The Sun on Thursday revealed that Kerr allegedly hurled a racist slur at the officer, labelling him a “stupid white bastard”.

However, on Friday another media outlet said Kerr would argue she did not call the police officer a “bastard”.

The Australian reports Kerr did not deny calling the constable “white”.

The newspaper writes that Kerr, who is of Indian descent, claims she used the term “stupid white cop”.

The Australian said the Chelsea striker’s British legal team planned to challenge several assertions about the incident, as published in The Sun. 

The Sun reported that Kerr, 30, is said to have been sick in the cab after a night out with friends in Twickenham, in south-west London, in January 2023. They had been out celebrating Chelsea’s victory against Liverpool, when the talented striker scored three goals.

When police arrived to deal with the taxi dispute, Kerr allegedly verbally abused the officer, with the interaction captured on body cam.

Kerr was charged a year later, this January, with racially aggravated harassment, causing alarm or distress to a police officer.

She appeared in Kingston Crown Court on Monday (local time) via video link and pleaded not guilty, with a pre-trial hearing scheduled for April 26.

Meanwhile, Kerr’s lawyers will seek to have her racial harassment charge dropped next month.

The global football star’s lawyers will argue an abuse of process at the pre-trial next month and seek to have the charge downgraded or dropped, according to court documents cited by multiple British media outlets.

Kerr was charged on January 21 this year, with the time period between the incident and charge being laid understood to be central to her legal team’s abuse of process claim.

The April hearing comes ahead of four-day trial slated for next February.

The Matildas and Chelsea striker is charged with using insulting, threatening or abusive words that caused alarm or distress to an officer known only as PC Lovell during an incident in Twickenham on January 30 last year.

“The charge relates to an incident involving a police officer who was responding to a complaint involving a taxi fare,” the UK’s Metropolitan Police said.

Harassment convictions in Britain can include a sentence of up to two years in custody when the offence is racially or religiously aggravated.

-with AAP