Irish Daily Mirror

BROTHER OF CAT-KICKER SUSPENDED

Yoan filmed horror pet video

- BY KEITH PERRY news@irishmirro­r.ie @Irishmirro­r

KURT Zouma’s footballer brother Yoan has been suspended by his club for filming the horrific video of his West Ham star sibling kicking a cat.

A defender like his brother, Yoan, 23, has been sidelined by National League side Dagenham & Redbridge.

In a statement, the club said it “would again like to reiterate that it condemns any form of cruelty towards animals and fully understand­s the reaction of many of its supporters.

“The club has therefore decided that until the RSPCA has completed its investigat­ions, Yoan will not play in any competitiv­e match.”

Both cats have now been taken into the care of the RSPCA and Kurt, 27, has been fined €295,000 by West Ham – equivalent to two weeks’ wages – which is the maximum amount a club can punish a player.

An RSPCA spokesman said: “Two cats have been

FINED seen by a vet and are being well looked after. They will remain in our care while the investigat­ion continues.”

After the footage emerged, Zouma said there were no excuses for his behaviour and he was “deeply sorry” if it upset anyone.

Kevin Hind, treasurer of West Ham United Supporters Trust, said: “If this had occurred in any other field of work, the employee would have been suspended if not dismissed.” But Hammers’ forward Michael Antonio questioned why some fans appear angrier about the cat incident than they are about racism.

While saying he did not condone his team-mate’s actions, he questioned the backlash.

He said: “There’s people that have been convicted for racism and have played football afterwards.

“But people are now calling for [Zouma] to be sacked.

“Is what he’s done worse than the people that [were]

convicted of racism?”

 ?? ?? WAITING ON PROBE National League defender Yoan Zouma won’t play due to cat video
WAITING ON PROBE National League defender Yoan Zouma won’t play due to cat video
 ?? ?? West Ham’s Zouma
SEE SPORT
West Ham’s Zouma SEE SPORT
 ?? ?? SICK Video
SICK Video

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Ireland