West Ham United player Kurt Zouma has been sentenced to 180 hours of community service for kicking and hitting his cat, a British judge ruled on Wednesday. The sentence also prohibits the French center to have cats for five years.
Zouma, 27, had already pleaded guilty to two Animal Welfare Act offenses at a hearing last month at Westminster Magistrates Court in central London.
Also the footballer's brother, Yoan Zouma, who plays for Dagenham and Redbridge, of the Conference National, the English fifth division, will have to fulfill another punishment of 140 hours of community service.
"Both of you participated in this shameful and reprehensible act with this cat," Judge Susan Holdham confirmed in sentencing. The magistrate recalled that the two brothers did not "attend to the cat's needs" and stressed that "there are young people who aspire to emulate you."
After the embarrassing incident, London's West Ham has already announced its own sanction against the player: two weeks without salary, equivalent to 300,000 euros. Also Adidas, which sponsored the player, broke its link with the French center-back, a former Chelsea player. In addition, the British organization for the protection of animals RSPCA reported that it removed the footballer's two cats.
Yoan, 24, recorded the animal abuse incident at his older brother's house and posted it on the Snapchat portal, accompanied by icons indicating "laughter" on February 6. The video was seen by a woman who had been exchanging messages with Yoan and who raised the alarm.
In the recording, Zouma appears kicking the cat around the kitchen of his house, before throwing a pair of shoes at him and slapping him.
