We didn’t have to wait very long. Less than a week after the broadcast of a video in which Kurt Zouma mistreats one of his cats, West Ham supporters have created a chant to mock the French defender, the target of all criticism in England and France .
The former Saint-Etienne had already been taken in dislike by a large part of the Hammers fans the day after the publication of the video by the tabloid The Sun. During the reception of Watford last Tuesday, he was notably whistled. This time he got his own song, which was sung in a pub as West Ham traveled to Leicester on Sunday for the 25thand Premier League day (2-2). The lyrics of this song, however, are somewhat dubious… (“Kurt Zouma is magic […] and if you throw him a cat, he’ll hit him in the behind […]”)
Kurt Zouma’s magic pic.twitter.com/4OwGmqvPay
— West Ham Latest (@westham_latest) February 13, 2022
Announced holder for this meeting against the Foxes, Kurt Zouma finally withdrew before kick-off and was replaced by Issa Diop. “Kurt didn’t feel well last night. He was sick overnight, didn’t eat with us (before the game) and didn’t attend the pre-game meeting. We did this as a precaution, just in case it was a symptom of Covid. But it was another disease,” said coach David Moyes after the game.
The release of the video had many repercussions. Zouma was fined the heaviest possible, in the amount of 300,000 euros corresponding to two weeks’ salary and lost custody of his two cats. He was also let go by Adidas, who broke the contract binding him to the player, and could be removed from the France team for the next gathering of the Blues in March. It has also been the subject of several complaints from animal protection associations.