11 February 2022
Jeremiah Harrison
Sports Reporter
Adidas has ended its sponsorship deal with West Ham defender Kurt Zouma following a video of him kicking his cat.
Kurt Zouma was fined £250, 000 (US$338,763) by West Ham and his two cats were taken into care by the UK Animal Welfare Charity.
Reports emanating from London state that the former Chelsea fullback might face a jail term of about 4 years in French jail.
On 7 February 2022, footage emerged of Zouma kicking and slapping his cat.
He was condemned by both his club and the RSPCA. Zouma apologised and said that despite his actions, his two pet cats were “fine and healthy”. West Ham said that they would deal with the matter internally.
On Tuesday 8 February, French animal welfare organisation, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation announced that they had filed a complaint against Zouma. On the same day, Essex Police said they had launched an enquiry into the abuse in conjunction with the RSPCA.
West Ham manager David Moyes selected Zouma to play in their match against Watford on the same day, despite the controversy. BBC Sport presenter Gary Lineker said he was “shocked and appalled that West Ham played Zouma” against Watford.
On 9 February, the RSPCA confirmed that Zouma’s two cats were taken away from him and were in RSPCA care.
On the same day, one of West Ham’s sponsors Vitality suspended their deal with the club. Vitality stated it was “distressed” by the video footage of Zouma and “hugely disappointed by the judgement subsequently shown by the club in response to this incident”.
German sportswear firm Adidas ended its partnership with Zouma, stating,
“We have concluded our investigation and can confirm Kurt Zouma is no longer an Adidas-contracted athlete.”
West Ham condemned Zouma’s actions fining him the maximum amount possible, the money being donated to animal welfare charities.
The world over has reacted with surprise to what Zouma is been subjected to.
Some football fans feel as if this matter is getting out hand.
Michail Antonio West Ham forward feels as if this matter has to do with racism just because Zouma is black thus the severe punishment.
Tracing back to football incidents, Uruguay striker Luis Suarez once racially abused former Manchester United player Patrice Evra but Suarez was fined £40, 000.
Real Madrid star Eden Hazard kicked a ball boy during the match and he got just a 3 match ban.
Isn’t enough for Zouma to pay £250, 000 fine for abusing the pet cats?
Twitter was abuzz with proof of racism against Zouma. A picture of safari hunters with their animal trophies was posted in comparison to Zouma’s video.
Many followers of Zouma, both white and black have condemned the actions against Zouma calling racist.
As if the punishment is not enough, Zouma’s brother Yoan, who is believed to have filmed Zouma kicking his cat has been punished as well. Yoan’s club, Deganham & Redbridge has suspended him as well.
Kurt Zouma began his career at Saint-Étienne, making his professional debut at the age of 16, and going on to win the Coupe de la Ligue with the club in 2013.
Zouma joined Chelsea for £12 million in January 2014, but was loaned back to the French club for the remainder of the season. In his first full campaign in England, Zouma helped Chelsea win the League Cup and the Premier League. In July 2017, Zouma joined Stoke City on loan for the 2017–18 season. This was followed by another loan move to Everton for the 2018–19 season.
On 28 August 2021, Zouma joined West Ham United for £29.8 million signing a four-year contract.
On 16 September, he made his West Ham debut, in the Europa League in a 2–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb. In November, he scored his first goal for West Ham, the winning goal in a 3–2 victory over Liverpool.
It would seem the world will always look at a black person with indifference.
The same treatment that the Zouma brothers are being subjected to was perpetrated by whites on blacks during the years of slave trade.
In a nutshell, a cat is far much better than a black person.