Kurt Zouma ordered to do 180 hours of community service after pleading guilty to kicking and slapping his pet cat
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West Ham United defender Kurt Zouma has been ordered to do 180 hours of community service and banned from keeping cats for five years after pleading guilty to kicking and slapping his pet cat, a London court ruled on Wednesday.
Kurt Zouma admitted two offenses under the Animal Welfare Act at the Thames Magistrates` Court last month after a viral video, filmed by his brother Yoan and posted on social media in February, showed him dropping one of his cats and kicking it across the floor.
He was seen slapping the Bengal cat’s head and saying: “I’ll swear I’ll kill it.” The clip, shared on Snapchat, featured laughing emojis.
The Premier League player arrived at court surrounded by burly minders to face a scrum of waiting media and a person dressed up as a cat. As he went inside, the lone demonstrator gave him a thumbs down.
What did the court say to Kurt Zouma?
District judge Susan Holdham told Kurt Zouma and his younger brother Yoan, who filmed the incident, that their actions were “disgraceful and reprehensible”.
“You must be aware that others look up to you and many young people aspire to emulate you,” she said but accepted that both expressed “genuine remorse”.
Kurt Zouma pleaded guilty last month to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. As well as the community penalty and ban on keeping cats, he was told to pay court costs of nearly £9,000.
Yoan Zouma, 24, admitted one count of aiding, abetting, counseling, or procuring his older brother to commit an offense. He was sentenced to 140 hours of community service. Yoan, a lower-league footballer, sent the video to a woman he was due to go on a date with but she called off the meeting after seeing the footage.
“I don’t think hitting a cat like that is OK — don’t bother coming today,” she told him.
The 27-year-old, who was fined 250,000 pounds by West Ham for the incident, lost his sponsorship deal with sportswear brand Adidas and was also jeered by fans during a Premier League game against Watford in February.
Zouma, however, continued to enjoy the support of manager David Moyes and made 33 appearances across competitions as West Ham finished seventh in the league and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.
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Aryan Sharma
(95 Articles Published)