Premier League – Kurt Zouma, ultimately not a starter with West Ham, “felt badly warming up”

West Ham’s French defender Kurt Zouma, caught in a scandal linked to a video where he hit his cat, is finally forfeited during the match of the 25th day of the Premier League against Leicester which he was to start on Sunday. Heckled by his own supporters who did not hesitate to whistle every ball taken by the French international during the match against Watford (1-0 on February 8), the 27-year-old defender was strongly criticized by many football players.

“Issa Diop will replace Kurt Zouma in the starting XI because he felt bad“During the warm-up, the club had simply explained on its Twitter account.

“He was sick before the match, but he wanted to play and we wanted him to play too“, explained after the match the coach David Moyes who evoked “digestive problems“. “Once (on the grass), he felt that was not possible. We warned Issa Diop (his replacement) that there was a possibility that he was playing“, added the coach.

The player is at the center of a controversy that arose from the broadcast by the tabloid The Sun on Tuesday of a video in which he was seen kicking his cat, throwing a shoe at him and slapping him when he had found refuge in the arms of a child. This did not prevent him from being lined up for a meeting against Watford on Tuesday evening, which further increased public outrage against him.

During the match, he had been booed by the opposing supporters, but also some of West Ham, and he had been chastised by part of the public, when he had complained of pain after an opposing foul, to the sound of “this is how your cat feelsThe Hammers manager had defended his decision by explaining that he needed his best players as the London club were in the fight for a Champions League qualification.

On Sunday, he again defended his player. “Obviously our player made a mistake, but there are plenty of players or coaches who made mistakes and, afterwards, we hope that there will also be some forgiveness and that people will accept the fact that he made a mistake and he apologized“, argued Moyes.

West Ham had condemned Zouma’s actions and imposed a fine of 300,000 euros, the heaviest possible, which will be donated to an animal protection association and the player should undergo animal welfare training .

Kurt Zouma had also been let go by the sports equipment manufacturer Adidas, which had broken the contract binding him to the player. The incident is still being investigated by the RSPCA (the local SPA) and Essex Police, and Zouma’s cat has been taken into the care of the animal welfare body to check his condition.

More than 330,000 people have signed an online petition calling for Zouma to be prosecuted. West Ham’s attitude contrasts with that of the 5th division club of Dagenham and Redbridge, which has suspended Zouma’s brother, Yoan, who allegedly filmed the video, until the conclusion of the investigation.