Race-hate barrage hits Zouma as he admits cat cruelty
Threat of footballer convicted over pet-kick video
ESSEX police are investigating a flurry of abusive messages sent to Kurt Zouma in which he was repeatedly called the N-word and targeted with chilling death threats in the aftermath of the infamous cat-kicking episode. The 27-year-old West Ham defender pleaded guilty to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act when he appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court in east London yesterday morning. Footage emerged in February of Zouma — and his brother Yoan — abusing a cat, which eventually led to the pair being prosecuted by the RSPCA. Unusually, Zouma’s address was withheld in court yesterday, at the request of his lawyer. And Sportsmail can now disclose the content of some of the horrifying messages sent to the player on social media that compelled the judge not to reveal his address, amid concerns for his safety. Zouma and his family were threatened with sexual assault and Zouma was repeatedly called a monkey and the N-word. He was told he would be shot and stabbed, left disabled and threatened with having various limbs cut off. An Essex Police spokesman told Sportsmail: ‘We received a report on April 8 of an allegation of malicious communications. ‘Our enquiries are ongoing, and we continue to work with social media platforms to identify those responsible.’ The Premier League are aware of the messages. Instagram have suspended the accounts of more than 100 users linked to the Zouma abuse. In making a successful application for the judge to prohibit publication of Zouma’s address, Trevor Burke QC said: ‘Mr Zouma has received racial abuse over the internet that is the worst the FA has seen. It is grotesque.’
A TOP footballer said ‘I’ll kill it’ as he volleyed his cat in a video which was exposed by a woman who’d been planning to date his brother, a court heard yesterday.
West Ham defender Kurt Zouma admitted kicking and slapping the pet in the now-infamous footage posted on social media.
The woman raised the alarm after being sent the sickening clips – filmed by Zouma’s brother Yoan – on Snapchat.
Zouma, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of animal cruelty at Thames Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
Yoan, a 23-year-old defender for National League side Dagenham and Redbridge, admitted aiding and abetting his brother.
In the footage, Zouma declares ‘I’ll kill it – I swear – I’ll kill it,’ as he drop-kicks the cat across his kitchen, before throwing a pair of shoes at the terrified pet and slapping its head.
Two Bengal cats were taken in by the RSPCA, which released photos of them safe and well yesterthe day. The matter came to light in February when the unnamed woman, who had been speaking with Yoan about arranging a date, came across the videos, the court heard.
Hazel Stevens, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said: ‘She was horrified, and even more so, because Yoan found the images funny.’
The RSPCA was subsequently alerted to the Snapchat clips by a journalist as they went viral.
Miss Stevens said: ‘Kurt Zouma takes his shoe off and chases the cat around dining room table.’ The France international then gets his seven-year-old son to hold the cat while he slaps its head. Miss Stevens added: ‘This is a scene which can only be described as shocking. He did not chastise the cat where it was but brought it into the kitchen and kicked it like a football. The lady was so disgusted she cancelled the date.’ The woman had told Yoan: ‘I don’t think that is okay. The cat does not know what it is doing. I do not want to associate with people who find that funny, in front of a child as well. You should be careful of that stuff, especially with your family being who they are.’
The RSPCA seized the cats and a vet said the kicking and slapping caused soft tissue damage, but there were no lasting physical injuries. The brothers will be sentenced on June 1.
Zouma could be jailed for up to six months but is more likely to be fined.
‘The lady was disgusted’