Kurt Zouma is now into more trouble after West Ham’s Health and Wellness partner, Vitality Insurance, suspended its sponsorship for the club.
Zouma's boot partner, Adidas, also ended their partnership with the French international.
This comes after pressure mounted on the defender following a video that emerged of him violently kicking his cats in his house.
The video was posted on Snapchat by Zouma’s brother, who unfortunately captioned it with laughing emojis. It is not clear yet how the cats might have warranted the violence.
While pulling the plug, Vitality noted that they were not convinced that West Ham took proper action against the defender.
“We are very distressed by the video we have seen of Kurt Zouma. At Vitality, we condemn animal cruelty and violence of any kind,” read part of a statement from the insurance and investment firm.
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“We are hugely disappointed by the judgement subsequently shown by the club in response to this incidence. As such we are suspending our sponsorship for West Ham United with immediate effect,” the statement went on.
Vitality further noted that they would engage further with the club in a bid to understand what further action they shall take in light of the public uproar the incident has caused.
“We will now be further engaging with the club to understand what action they will be taking to address the situation,” Vitality said.
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West Ham had fined Zouma 250,000 Euros, equal to two weeks’ wages. The money, West Ham said, shall be donated to animal protection charities.
Zouma’s cats were also taken in by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) - a charity organisation focused on rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming or releasing animals across England and Wales.
Zouma, in the meantime, was part of West Ham’s team that beat Watford 1-0 yesterday to jump back into the top four of the English Premier League.
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