Kurt Zouma has been fined £250,000 (Kshs 38,422,481) by West Ham after he was filmed kicking his pet cat.
The RSPCA have also seized the 27-year-old footballer’s felines after he was captured kicking one of the animals like a football and slapping it out a child’s hands in disturbing footage from his mansion in Essex.
Zouma has further been axed by sponsors like Adidas who have terminated his contract in response to the video.
A statement from Adidas read: ‘We have concluded our investigation and can confirm Kurt Zouma is no longer an adidas contracted athlete.’
Zouma has also been removed from the Premier League club’s squad as a result of his actions.
The French defender issued a grovelling apology after the social media clips – shared by his brother Yoan – emerged and over 120,000 people have signed a petition calling for Zouma to be prosecuted over the footage and banned from keeping animals.
The footballer said in a statement on Tuesday (08.02.22): “I want to apologise for my actions. There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret.”
“I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to anyone who was upset by the video,” he said. “I would like to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy. They are loved and cherished by our entire family, and this behaviour was an isolated incident that will not happen again.”
Essex Police had said that it was making “urgent enquiries” into the video but the force is now said to be dropping the investigation.
The decision to play Zouma in West Ham’s Premier League match against Watford on Tuesday (08.02.22) sparked anger but West Ham manager David Moyes insists he made the decision in the best interests of the team.
