David Moyes says Kurt Zouma is available to play for West Ham against Leicester this weekend despite abuse towards cat
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Published 11/02/2022 at 15:55 GMT
Following the emergence of footage showing Kurt Zouma kicking and beating his pet cat on Monday, David Moyes chose to start him against Watford on Tuesday evening. Even in the face of a massive backlash from fans and sponsors, the West Ham manager has said that he will be available for selection once more for the Hammers’ trip to the King Power Stadium.
Moyes 'disappointed' by Zouma kicking cat but defends selection against Watford
David Moyes has confirmed that Kurt Zouma will be available to play for West Ham against Leicester this weekend, despite the massive backlash which has followed the emergence of footage showing him kicking and beating his pet cat.
The video first surfaced on Monday, with Zouma forced to issue an apology. “West Ham United unreservedly condemns the actions of our player, Kurt Zouma, in the video that has circulated,” read a club statement. “We have spoken to Kurt and will be dealing with the matter internally, but we would like to make it clear that we in no way condone cruelty towards animals.”
Nonetheless, Moyes chose to start Zouma against Watford on Tuesday evening. He completed the full 90 minutes, though he was booed by both sets of fans during the game.
The reaction to Moyes’ decision has been overwhelmingly negative, with Vitality, West Ham’s wellness partner, suspending their sponsorship deal with the club and releasing a statement saying that they were “hugely disappointed” with the handling of the incident. Experience Kissimmee, the tourism authority for Osceola County in Florida, announced that they had ended their sponsorship of the club on Wednesday.
Zouma remains under investigation by the RSPCA, who took his two cats into care earlier this week. While West Ham have revealed that they have fined Zouma “the maximum amount possible” and will donate the money to animal welfare charities, that has done little to quell the anger at the decision to allow him to play on while the investigation is ongoing.
Asked in his pre-match press conference whether Zouma would feature against Leicester on Sunday, Moyes said: “He is available to play. There are different views on whether he should be available. We decided he should. I stand by that.”
Pressed on whether the club’s response has been serious enough, Moyes said: “I don’t think a club could have taken more action, any quicker. We’ve fined him maximum wages. He’s getting some help. We’re trying to do as much as we can as a club to help him.
“I think the RSPCA are going to provide us with some courses to help him and make sure that Kurt’s getting better and understanding it. We’re going to do everything as a club that we possibly can to resolve it.
“I’ve had over 1,000 games and I’ve never treated any player differently. If it’s regarding disciplinary reasons, everyone’s treated the exact same.”
The West Ham Supporters’ Trust are among those who have called for Zouma to be suspended, with treasurer Kevin Hind telling the PA news agency: “The video which we saw was absolutely horrific. Cruelty to animals is completely unacceptable.
“These footballers, including Zouma, are role models to people, particularly young people. If they are seen to be getting away with this kind of behaviour then it shows impressionable people that they can also get away with the behaviour too.
“I don’t think any of us were impressed with Zouma having been played [against Watford].
“Professional footballers should not be treated like god – if footballers break the law, they should be punished.
“In terms of animal cruelty, if this had occurred in any other field of work, the employee concerned would have been suspended if not summarily dismissed. If he is actually prosecuted and it is a fine, I would guess it would not really hit him hard in the pocket.
“We have suggested he should be required to donate at least a week’s salary to the RSPCA or Cats Protection and do community service with them so he can see the consequences of his own actions.”
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