The RSPCA have refuted West Ham manager David Moyes’ claim that Kurt Zouma will attend animal welfare courses and say they have yet to receive a donation from the Premier League club.
The French defender, who has continued to play for the Hammers, was filmed drop-kicking and slapping one of his Bengal cats last week and fined two weeks’ wages worth £250,000, while his pets were seized by the RSPCA.
Moyes insists Zouma will not be dropped from West Ham’s team despite the incident and claimed the RSPCA would be providing the 27-year-old with courses to educate him.
‘We’re so disappointed, it’s completely out of character from Kurt, we’ve never seen this in him,’ said Moyes on Friday. ‘He is a really good lad and we’re going to get him some help.
‘Just like people with drink-drive offences have to go to classes to learn the reasons and the damage that can be done, the RSPCA are going to provide some courses for Kurt to understand exactly about animals and how to treat them.
‘We’ll do everything we possibly can to make sure Kurt is getting better at understanding it.’
However, the RSPCA distanced itself from Moyes’ comments and said in a statement on Saturday that ‘there have been no plans made for animal welfare courses to be undertaken’.
Further to that, the RSPCA said they have ‘not been offered or accepted a donation’ from West Ham despite the club saying Zouma’s £250,000 fine would go to animal welfare charities.
The statement added: ‘Our focus remains entirely on our experienced officers carrying out a full and thorough investigation.’
While Zouma continues to play for West Ham – and is in line to start against Leicester City on Sunday – his brother Yoan, who filmed the incident, has been suspended by Dagenham & Redbridge until the RSPCA have concluded their investigation.
Many critics feel West Ham have been too lenient in their response and the £250,000 fine should have been accompanied by a ban from playing.
But Moyes has defended the club’s stance, saying: ‘I don’t think a club could have taken more action, any quicker than what West ham have done. West Ham have done a really good job. They’ve fined him maximum wages. I’m not condoning his actions, they were terrible. We all accept that they were diabolical. But we’ve chosen to play him and we stand by that.’
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