Kurt Zouma faces the effects of mistreating his cat

Boos from his fans, a fine from his club, legal complaints, loss of a sponsor… Barely 24 hours after the publication of a video in which you can see Kurt Zuma mistreat your catthe French international of West Ham faces harsh consequences for this controversy.

The last to pronounce was the sportswear brand Adidaswhich this Wednesday announced in a statement transmitted to the AFP that breaks his sponsorship contract with the player: “We have closed our investigation and we can confirm that Kurt Zouma is no longer a contract athlete with Adidas.

This decision comes hours after the West Ham announced in turn having imposed the player “the largest possible fine”that is, the amount corresponding to two weeks’ salary, which in the case of the French footballer would be almost €300,000 ($343,000).

“The player has immediately accepted the fine and has requested that the amount be allocated to an organization for the protection of animal rights”, specified the club.

All of these reactions come after British society was scandalized by the broadcast of a video in which Zouma, 27, is seen kicking his catthrow a shoe at it and hit it on the snout while the animal is in the arms of a child.

According The Sunthe newspaper that published the video, the 27-year-old defender he was very angry because his cat had broken a vase and had ripped out a lamp.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the UK’s largest animal welfare association, indicated that the footballer’s two cats had been removedspecifying that “Kurt is full of remorse and, like everyone else in the club, fully understands the intensity of the reaction caused for the incident and the need for action to be taken.”

An online petition, in French and English, calling for legal action against the player has also had great success on the change.org platform, with almost 200,000 signatures.

criticism of the club

Despite the player’s apologies as soon as the video was made public, the controversy intensified on Tuesday night when the West Ham manager, David Moyes made the defender play a game against Watford.

The fans of both teams also punished the playerbooing him every time he touched the ball.

The case has even reached the political sphere, since the mayor of london (West Ham City), Sadiq Khan, described the events as “despicable” and was “disappointed” by manager David Moyes’ decision to start the defender for Tuesday night’s game against Watford.

“I know that the three points can be very important, I am also a fan of a club, but they should have shown more firmness and suspended him last night,” he told the Sky News channel.

West Ham loses sponsors

Some West Ham sponsors have also shown their rejection. the insurer Vitality has suspended an agreement with the club feeling “extremely disappointed by the lack of judgment” of the entity. Y Experience Kissimmeea vacation complex in Florida considered what happened “unfortunate” and will review your agreement with the club.

The outrage has also reached Francewhere several animal protection associations have announced that will file a lawsuit against the footballer and have even claimed that he is not called up by the French team again.

The president of the French Football FederationNoël Le Graët, rated the footballer’s gesture as “gratuitous, stupid and cruel” In a statement sent to the AFPin which he was surprised by what happened since Zouma “is a boy known for being very respectful.”

The leader, however, did not refer to a possible sanction at the sporting level. (D)