Europe 1 with AFP 11:03 a.m., February 9, 2022

Blues and West Ham defender Kurt Zouma has apologized after a video emerged on social media on Tuesday in which he is seen abusing his cat at his home in suburban London.

The whole scene played out with laughter in the background and laughing emojis embedded in the footage.

Kurt Zouma, defender of the Blues and West Ham, caused a scandal on Tuesday after the broadcast of a video showing him kicking his cat, like a ball, in his house in the London suburbs.

In the two clips broadcast on Snapchat and relayed by the tabloid

The Sun

, we can see Zouma (27) chasing his cat in his luxurious home, kicking him in volley, before throwing him a shoe and finally to slap it on the muzzle while the animal is in the arms of a child.

The footballer apologizes in a press release

The whole scene unfolds with laughter in the background and laughing emojis embedded in the footage.

According to the

Sun

, the defender with eleven selections for the France team was furious because his cat accidentally broke a vase and tore off a light fixture.

"I want to apologize for my actions," Zouma responded in a statement.

"There are no excuses for my behavior, which I sincerely regret. I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to everyone who was upset by the video. I want to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy."

West Ham, the club he joined in August 2021 from Chelsea, also "unreservedly" condemned his player's behavior in a separate statement: "We have spoken to Kurt and will deal with the matter internally, but we would like to make it clear that we do not tolerate animal cruelty in any way."

The London club still lined up its defender in the evening against Watford, for the 24th day of the Premier League.

A video obtained by The Sun allegedly shows footballer Kurt Zouma kicking and hitting his cat.



It's absolutely disgusting and disturbing footage.

I hope he is prosecuted for animal cruelty.

pic.twitter.com/3K7xMeHh5j

— Emily Hewertson (@emilyhewertson) February 7, 2022

Zouma whistled by supporters after the video

During this match won 1-0 and which Zouma played in its entirety, the Frenchman was constantly booed by opposing supporters, and sometimes even by those of West Ham.

At one point, Watford fans chanted "this is how your cat feels" in response to Josh King's foul on Zouma.

His trainer David Moyes, who "loves animals very much", justified his decision to start him by explaining that his job was "to choose the best team and Kurt was one of them".

"Some people will be disappointed by it and I understand that," he also admitted.

In the afternoon, Dagenham and Redbridge FC, a fifth division club, indicated that it was going to take sanctions against the brother of Kurt Zouma, Yoan, who plays there and who filmed the scene.

The 23-year-old expressed his "deep regrets for (his) participation in the video", in the same press release.

Petition calls for legal action

An online petition calling for legal action against Zouma gathered 25,000 signatures after the match.

Because the images have made the associations for the protection of the animal cause jump across the Channel, where cruelty to animals can be punished by five years in prison.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the largest such association, called the video "very upsetting".

“It is never acceptable to kick, hit or slap an animal, in punishment or otherwise,” added its spokesperson.

The association For an ethics in the treatment of animals (PETA) ruled that Zouma should not only face "the court of public opinion" and be "dragged before a court of law", but she also called for that he is "removed from the France team".

"Our country cannot accept being represented internationally by a person appearing to be committing such unacceptable acts of violence and cruelty," argued the association.