Premier League star Kurt Zouma has today apologised after being given a dressing down by West Ham bosses over a shocking video showing him kicking and slapping a Bengal cat.
In a grovelling statement, the 27-year-old, who only joined the east London club from Chelsea in a £29.8million deal in the summer, said he was ‘deeply sorry’ over the incident and insisted his cats were ‘loved and cherished’.
The apology comes as his club side issued their own statement, in which they ‘unreservedly condemned’ the defender’s actions.
But the footballer is not yet off the hook, and could face an RSPCA animal cruelty investigation. The charity, which has the power to prosecute in animal welfare cases, said it was ‘aware’ of the ‘very upsetting footage’.
RSPCA bosses today refused to say if a probe had been launched, instead saying it would investigate if a ‘complaint is made’ and it is ‘necessary’.
Social media users meanwhile have taken to Twitter to put pressure on the RSPCA to investigate.
And a petition calling for the charity to take action against the French international has also been launched. It has already been signed more than 10,000 times.
The RSPCA, whose prosecutions carry a maximum sentence of five-years in prison for the most serious of offences, would not confirm the receipt of any official complaints that would lead to an investigation.
The charity however say it had received ‘lots of messages on social media’ and other channels about the video, which was taken on Sunday – the day after Zouma appeared for the club in their FA Cup victory over non-league Kidderminster Harriers.
RSPCA bosses urged people only to come forward to them if they had ‘first hand information’ about the incident.
Today, addressing the video in a statement, the West Ham defender said: ‘I want to apologise for my actions.
‘There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret. I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to anyone who was upset by the video.
‘I would like to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy.
‘They are loved and cherished by our entire family, and this behaviour was an isolated incident that will not happen again.’
Zouma was said to have been angered after the cat caused a mess inside his house.
West Ham have said the club will ‘deal with the matter internally’. In a short statement, the Premier League said: ‘West Ham United unreservedly condemns the actions of Kurt Zouma in the video that has circulated.
‘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.’
It comes as social media users today flooded Twitter with complaints about the video, urging the RSPCA to take action.
One Twitter user even labelled her post an ‘official complaint’ and copied in the charity. It is not clear if this counts as an official complaint.
The Twitter user wrote: ‘Hi RSPCA_official. I am logging an official complaint about the clear case of animal cruelty that has been carried out by Kurt Zouma in a video posted on Snapchat.
‘Please remove this cat and any other animals from this person’s household ASAP.’
Another wrote: ‘RSPCA_official. Are you going to investigate this idiot?’
And Susan Hall, a Conservative London Assembly Member, copying in both Kurt Zouma and the RSPCA, added: ‘Kurt Zouma should never be allowed to own an animal again. Disgusting, unforgivable behavior.’
Meanwhile a petition calling on the RSPCA to take action has now been launched. The Change.Org petition has already been signed more than 2,500 times.
A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: ‘This is a very upsetting video. It’s never acceptable to kick, hit or slap an animal, for punishment or otherwise.
‘We are so grateful to people who report suspected animal suffering to us and we would like to reassure people we will always look into and, if necessary, investigate any complaints made to us about animal welfare.’
The spokesperson added: ‘We have received lots of messages on social media and our other channels, so we’re urging people to only contact our national cruelty line if they have new or first-hand information.’
The shocking footage is believed to have been filmed by Zouma’s brother Yoan, and shows Zouma dropping the cat before kicking it across the kitchen floor.
He also chases the cat around the kitchen and dining room in front of a child, all while the person capturing the video laughs hysterically.
A separate clip, obtained by The Sun, also shows the French international throwing a pair of shoes at the cat before slapping it out of a child’s arms.
The first of the clips was captioned with ‘sa commence’, which translated to ‘it is starting’.
A second clip was captioned with a series of laughing emojis.
Zouma’s brother is currently signed with National League side Dagenham & Redbridge FC, who also condemned their star’s actions in a statement.
In a statement issued on their website, club bosses said: ‘Since first becoming aware of the incident this morning the club has had discussions with Yoan and we will now take some time to consider our response, which we will of course make public in due course.
‘However, in the meantime we would like to make it completely clear that we in no way condone any form of cruelty towards animals and take this matter very seriously.
In a statement issues through the club’s website, Yoan Zouma said: ‘I deeply regret my involvement in the video that has been widely circulated and unreservedly apologise, not only for my actions, but for the upset and distress this will have caused to so many people.
‘I am now taking time to reflect on what I have done but wish to assure everyone that this was an isolated incident and not something that I am proud of.’
The release of the videos have sparked calls for West Ham to sack the star, including by BBC presenter Gabby Logan, who posted on Twitter: ‘I think I would probably get rid of a player who kicked and hit an animal for ‘laughs’ in his kitchen. All in front of his child.’
Chris Kirkland, a former Liverpool and England goalkeeper, also called for Zouma’s sacking.
He told talk SPORT: ‘Kurt Zouma has got to be sacked. If I was West Ham captain, I’d want to get Zouma out of the dressing room.’
The row comes just months after prison sentences for were raised by the Government. In June last year, the maximum prison sentence for animal cruelty, which includes the abuse of cats, rose from six months to five years. Offenders can also receive an unlimited fine.
