A petition calling for legal action against West Ham’s French international defender Kurt Zouma, whose video of him hitting his cat was revealed on Tuesday, had already gathered more than 100,000 signatures by midday Wednesday in Britain. The text in French and English called “Pursue Kurt Zouma and immediately take all his animals to a safe place! “, posted on the change.org platform, was at 118,500 signatures shortly before 12:00 GMT.
“In the UK we have laws against animal abuse, laws that should apply to everyone, rich or poor, famous or not! We call on the Metropolitan Police and the RSPCA to urgently investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of this heinous act,” according to the text of the petition. The success of the text has increased further after the London club’s highly controversial decision to let 27-year-old Zouma play in the league against Watford on Tuesday night.
“Despicable” acts for the mayor of London
Taken aback by fans, including some of his club, Zouma was jeered at throughout the game and when he went down after a foul by an opponent, some even sang “That’s what your cat feels” . Assuring that he loved “animals a lot”, Hammers coach David Moyes defended his decision to start the Frenchman by explaining that he needed to field his best players, West Ham being currently in the fight for a qualification for the very lucrative Champions League.
But the case escalated to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who called Zouma’s actions “despicable” and said he was “disappointed” with the coach and managers. “I know how important three points can be, I am also a supporter of a club, but they should have been firm and suspended it for last night”, declared the mayor on Sky News, stigmatizing the implicit message sent to “young people (who) see a Premier League player get away with an unacceptable attitude”.
One of West Ham’s sponsors, “Experience Kissimmee”, a holiday resort in Florida, has announced that it will review its financial ties with the club. “To see player Kurt Zouma in West Ham’s starting XI last night was heartbreaking,” the company wrote on its Twitter account, saying it had asked the club for clarification.