But regardless of what happened in London two years ago, the Matildas captain still has much to explain for blindsiding FA when she failed to inform her national bosses of the charge and left CEO James Johnson and then head coach Tony Gustavsson to find out more than a year later through media reporting.
Her lofty status in the national side, on and off the pitch, has been apparent since long before Kerr was handed the armband, and has helped her to play a critical role in attracting a new and younger generation of fans to women’s football and the broader game.
If FA is waiting for Kerr to join a Matildas camp to discuss her role within the team in person, the decision on the captaincy might only be announced in the days before the first friendly in Sydney on 4 April.
Kerr has been the shining light in a golden generation of Australian footballers who have won an Women’s Asian Cup and finished runner-up twice, reached the last four at a Women’s World Cup and an Olympic Games, and become the most popular team in the land.
With the trial and what Kerr described in a statement as a “challenging period” now behind her, she can look forward to returning to the pitch within the next month for the first time since tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in January last year.
