Kurt Zouma has lost his sponsorship deal with Adidas after being caught kicking and slapping his pet cat in a video.
The 27-year-old has been fined £250,000 by West Ham while his two cats have been seized by the RSPCA following the sickening video which was initially posted on Snapchat by his brother Yoan.
West Ham manager David Moyes controversially decided to play Zouma in his side’s 1-0 victory over Watford on Tuesday evening, although the French defender was booed by both sets of supporters during the game.
Vitality has already announced that it has suspended its sponsorship deal with West Ham following Zouma’s actions.
But now Adidas has confirmed that its own deal with Zouma, which began last year, will be terminated in response to the video.
A statement from Adidas read: ‘We have concluded our investigation and can confirm Kurt Zouma is no longer an adidas contracted athlete.’
In a statement released on Wednesday, West Ham claimed that Zouma is ‘extremely remorseful’ and is ‘co-operating fully’ with the RSPCA’s investigation.
‘West Ham United can confirm that the club is supporting an RSPCA investigation into the actions of Kurt Zouma in the video circulated online this week,’ the statement read.
‘Kurt and the club are co-operating fully with the investigation and the player has willingly complied with the steps taken in the initial stage of the process, including delivering his family’s two cats to the RSPCA for assessment. Kurt is extremely remorseful and, like everyone at the club, fully understands the depth of feeling surrounding the incident and the need for action to be taken.
‘Separate to the RSPCA’s investigation and pending further sanction once the outcome of that process is determined, West Ham United can confirm that Kurt Zouma has been fined the maximum amount possible following his actions in the video that circulated. The player has immediately accepted the fine, which both he and the club agreed will be donated to animal welfare charities.
‘West Ham United would like to reiterate our condemnation of Kurt’s actions and make it clear that the matter continues to be handled with the utmost seriousness. However, we believe it is now important to allow the RSPCA to conduct their investigation in a fair and thorough manner, and will be making no further comment at this stage.’
A statement from the RSPCA read: ‘The two cats are now in RSPCA care. Our priority is and has always been the well-being of these cats.
‘They’ve been taken for a check-up at a vets and then will remain in our care while the investigation continues.
‘We’re grateful to everyone who expressed their concern for these cats. We were dealing with this issue before the video went viral online and are leading the investigation.
‘We continue to investigate so we cannot comment further at this time.’
Moyes, meanwhile, described it as a ‘poor situation’ but defended his decision to play Zouma on Tuesday evening as he was part of West Ham’s ‘best team’.
‘I am really disappointed and the club have taken all the actions that they can do at the moment. They are working on that behind the scenes. My job is to pick the best team for West Ham and Kurt was part of that team,’ said Moyes.
‘I am a big animal lover. As I said, my job is to try and win for West Ham and to put out the best team for that.
‘I think the club would rather deal with it all in time and they will let you know what the action is.
‘I was really disappointed with what I saw and what I was told. But as I’ve said, it was my job to find the best team for West Ham. There will be people who will be disappointed at that and I understand that totally.
‘I am someone who cares a lot about my dogs and horses and all the people I am connected with. I have spoken to him and we will move on as much as we can. We wanted to get this game out of the way and we understand nobody will be pleased about it. It is a poor situation.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.