West Ham defender Kurt Zouma admitted to kicking and slapping his pet cat at a London court hearing on Tuesday after disturbing footage posted online by his brother caused public outrage across Britain.
The 27-year-old France international pleaded guilty to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act at Thames Magistrates’ Court in east London.
Zouma was said to have targeted the male Bengal cat after blaming it for damaging a chair at his home. Two cats have since beensigned over to be re-homed.
The court was told that the “premeditated” attack was filmed by Zouma’s younger brother, lower-league footballer Yoan Zouma, 24, who sent it to a woman he was due to go on a date with.
But the woman was so shocked that she called off their meeting, telling him: “I don’t think hitting a cat like that is OK – don’t bother coming today.”
Youn Zouma admitted one count of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring his older brother to commit an offence.
The pair were released on bail ahead of their sentencing at the same court next week.
Kurt Zouma’s lawyer, Trevor Burke, said the footballer had been subject to racist abuse and threats, had lost a “substantial” sponsorship deal with Adidas, was fined 250,000 pounds (R5-million) and had not been picked for the France national team since.
In a video posted on Snapchat on February 6, where Zouma could be seen kicking the Bengal cat across his kitchen before throwing a pair of shoes at it and slapping its head.
The clip featured laughing emojis
He admitted to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on February 6.
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