The criminal trial of Sam Kerr has been a Rorschach test, enabling observers to reach their own conclusions about the Matildas star well before a verdict was reached. Even the jury’s ultimate finding of not guilty on Tuesday does little to quell bigger questions about the ongoing reputational fall-out, including Kerr’s future as captain of the national team and the face of women’s football in Australia.

Kerr appeared in the Kingston crown court in London over the past week, charged with causing racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress following a night-out in London two years ago. The charge revolves around four words that Kerr admits she directed at a police officer in the early hours of the morning: “fucking stupid and white.” The question on trial was whether that epithet reached the requisite threshold of criminality; Kerr had pleaded not guilty.

Related: Sam Kerr trial: how a drunken night out revealed questions of race, power and privilege

But the trial became much more complex, traversing issues of race, gender, safety and privilege. And among the evidence – reported blow-by-blow by Australian and British media – there was enough grist for whichever side an observer wished to fall.

Consider the case in Kerr’s favour. After departing a London nightclub, the Chelsea striker and her partner Kristie Mewis entered a taxi. Kerr felt unwell, and vomited out the window, at which point, Kerr said, the driver berated her and began driving recklessly. The situation quickly spiralled; Kerr told the court that the doors were locked and the driver was heading in an unknown direction – Kerr said she felt “terrified” for her life, while Mewis said she feared it was a “kidnapping.”

In the pair’s telling, the situation would be alarming for anyone – especially in a state of inebriation. And that is without the very considerable context. Kerr and Mewis were young women, trapped in a speeding cab in a foreign city, unable to recall the British equivalent of “000” or “911”. Kerr cited the Claremont serial killer, from her home state of Western Australia, who had been thought to be a taxi driver.

When the taxi arrived at Twickenham police station, officers expressed scepticism at the pair’s account. Kerr gave evidence that she felt the police were treating her differently because of “the colour of my skin”; she recalled experiencing racism growing up, and on social media to this day. Kerr encouraged the officer to “put your shoes in a female’s shoes”; Mewis described Kerr’s later language as her partner “speaking her truth.”

For Kerr’s detractors, this wider context obscures the central point: here was an entitled millionaire footballer, drunk, vomiting in the back of a taxi, and then using rude language as police officers sought to deescalate the situation. “I’m not paying for some fucking dodgy cunt’s fucking window,” Kerr said, in footage played during the trial. At one point Kerr showed her bank balance to the officer; she also threatened to “get the Chelsea fucking lawyers on this”.

“Sam Kerr behaved very badly,” said a representative view of this school of thought on X. “And in true ‘woke’ style, instead of feeling any kind of remorse, is playing identity politics to try and avoid any accountability.” The satirical Australian news outlet, Betoota Advocate, cut through the culture wars with its headline: “Kerr actually behaving pretty good for a half-pissed Perth girl who’s been hauled into the cop shop over a cab fare at 3am.”

As the evidence over the past week revealed, there are competing kinds of privilege at play here – with enough material for those on either side of the debate to claim vindication. The video footage is not flattering to Kerr; the context explains, even excuses, say her backers.

Where this leaves Kerr, as Matildas captain and Chelsea’s star striker, remains to be seen. Much will depend on whether club or country wish to pursue sanctions, or whether the reputational damage sees sponsors cut ties with the 31-year-old. Kerr has been rehabilitating from a long-term anterior cruciate ligament injury; she is expected to return to the pitch soon.

Related: Sam Kerr found not guilty of racially aggravated harassment of police officer

Is this the end of a honeymoon period of women’s football in Australia, following the afterglow of the home Women’s World Cup? Or is this merely double-standards? AFL and NRL players find themselves in equivalent legal tangles, and far worse, on a regular basis (although it is hard to imagine the captain of the Australian men’s cricket team surviving such a scandal). An English Premier League men’s player has been accused of rape – consideration of prosecution is currently pending – and yet continues to play (he cannot be named for legal reasons).

Legitimate questions can also be asked about whether a case of this nature needed to progress to this point, two years later, following something that – even at its worse – seemingly could have been dealt with at the time (Kerr ultimately paid the taxi driver £900 – A$1,780 – for the damage). It emerged in court last week that the police officer subject to the “fucking stupid and white” comment only expressed his concern at the comment in a follow-up statement 11 months after the incident, not in his initial statement.

Perhaps this is just what a maturing women’s football landscape looks like – as much attention off the pitch as on it. There is no small irony in the fact that interest in the game has been cultivated by behind-the-scenes content. Wall-to-wall reporting of a criminal trial was probably not exactly what head honchos at Football Australia had in mind.

Even before the verdict, it was clear that things will not be the same for Kerr, or Australian football, moving forward. The extent to which this incident tarnishes a glittering career, or is relegated to a footnote, remains to be seen. For many, in these polarised times, the answer to that question was predetermined before the trial had even commenced.