With Australia star Sam Kerr not found guilty by a London jury, last week, questions around her captaincy arose ahead of the Matildas’ opening clash against Japan in the SheBelieves Cup 2025 on Friday.
The Chelsea superstar was charged with racially aggravated harassment by a UK police officer, sparking a debate on whether she is fit to captain the Matildas after her long-injury lay off.
Asked if Kerr would be reinstated to the role, interim coach Tom Sermanni said it was an irrelevant discussion.
“For us, the most important part is that we get Sam healthy as quickly and as safely as possible, and get her back on the field,” he said during the Matildas’ pre-match press conference on Thursday.
“To me, the captaincy issue is kind of quite irrelevant, because by the time she comes back into the team, I might not be here. So, there is really no point in me commenting on that.
“Whoever comes in, whoever that coach is — who knows what is going to happen.
“So, from my perspective, and from the team’s perspective, it’s something that’s not really relevant at the moment.
“Steph Catley stepped in as captain and has done a fantastic job. So for us, it’s just about getting on with preparing for this tournament.”
Sermanni took over the coaching role in September after the departure of Tony Gustavsson in early August. A full-time replacement is still to be announced.
“If there is going to be discussions then I would obviously be involved in them because I would be involved in any discussions around things that impact the teams and the players,” he said.
“So, if that were to happen and any decisions were made, then I would be part of the decision-making process.
“Whatever decision that gets made, gets made. How that decision gets made, who makes it and who is involved in it —I really don’t know at the moment because it really is completely and utterly not part of our focus.
“At this moment in time, Sam is injured. She has been injured for 13 months and hasn’t played an international for 16 months. The team is just getting on with normal business.
“As I said earlier, it’s irrelevant.”
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