Sport

Footballer escapes jail time after kicking his cat in sickening video

Published

12 months ago

June 2, 2022

A prominent West Ham footballer, 27-year-old, Kurt Zouma has avoided jail time after booting a cat in a disgusting video while yelling “I’ll kill it”

The video was released exclusively by the Sun in February, with a warning that this story contains disturbing events of animal cruelty.

Zouma admitted to two charges under the Animal Welfare act.

The defender admitted to kicking his cat “like a football”.

Exclusive footage from the sun

His brother is the one who filmed the horrific act and has pleaded guilty to one charge under the same act.

Despite the public outcry and disgust, both men have escaped jail time.

Instead, they were both handed a 12 -month community order, with Zouma ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work and his brother 140 hours.

On top of this, they’re both barred from owning a cat for five years and fined approximately $15 thousand dollars each.

However, this is just a small portion for Zouma considering his $156, 000 a week wage.

Zouma continues to play for West Ham despite the horrific attack and is ironically an ambassador for a charity that protects abused big cats.

West Ham responds

Zouma was fined around $300,000 from his club which is equivalent to two weeks of wages. He also vehemently apologised for the attack and insisted his cats were both “perfectly fine and healthy”.

Zouma was later dropped by major sponsors Adidas and Vitality U.K. after the sickening video.

“West Ham United wishes to make clear that we condemn in the strongest terms any form of animal abuse or cruelty. This type of behaviour is unacceptable and is not in line with the values of the football club.
“Within 48 hours of the footage emerging, we fined Kurt the maximum available to the club.
“Every single penny of this money is now with a number of deserving charities, all dedicated to animal welfare.
“Kurt admitted at the earliest opportunity that what he did was wrong. He has apologised without reservation.
“We hope that now the court has reached its decision, everyone will allow Kurt the chance to learn from his mistake and move on.”
west ham statement

Two of Zouma’s cats have reportedly suffered soft tissue trauma and have been handed over to the RSPCA.

The RSPCA is now committed to finding them both loving and safe homes.

“We are pleased there has been swift justice in this awful case and our focus now is matching these beautiful cats to the loving homes they deserve.”
RSPCA chief inspectorate officer Dermot Murphy

A message from our CEO, Chris Burghes, in light of Kurt Zouma's sentencing this morning. pic.twitter.com/5XBoHSsmed
— Blue Cross (@The_Blue_Cross) June 1, 2022

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Holly Stearnes

Holly is an anchor and reporter at Ticker. She's experienced in live reporting, and has previously covered the Covid-19 pandemic on-location. She's passionate about telling stories in business, climate and health.

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Rafa Nadal pulls out of French Open

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2023

ticker NEWS, Brittany Coles

The Spaniard has failed to regain full fitness from a hip injury sustained earlier this year

Rafa Nadal has delivered news that no tennis fan wanted to hear.

The King of Clay will miss the French Open after failing to regain full fitness from a hip injury suffered at the Australian Open back in January.

The 14-time Roland Garros winner says he expects to retire following the 2024 season.

Nadal has dominated the clay court season for close to two decades.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion fronted a widely anticipated press conference at his tennis academy in Mallorca to drop the bombshell, saying its the right thing to do for his body and personal happiness.

“I’ll look to be 100% ready for next year, which I believe will be the last year of my professional career,” Nadal told a news conference at his tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain.

“The evolution of the injury I sustained in Australia has not gone as I would have liked. I have lost goals along the way, and Roland Garros becomes impossible.”

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China expresses concerns about ‘politicisation of sports’

Published

3 weeks ago

May 8, 2023

ticker NEWS

The East Asian nation raised the issue when Premier Li met with the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach

China has expressed concerns to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about the politicisation of sporting events.

The issue was raised when Chinese Premier Li Qiang met Thomas Bach, the head of the IOC, in Beijing over the weekend.

“China’s efforts to promote the Olympic spirit will never cease, and [China is] ready to work with IOC to oppose the politicisation of sports, and make further contributions to the Olympic movement,” Li said.

It is rare for China to raise such concerns with the IOC in public, and it was the first time it had made such comments since the Winter Olympics in Beijing early last year.

The United States and several of its allies took part in a diplomatic boycott of the Games, citing alleged human rights abuse in China’s far west region of Xinjiang.

Beijing has repeatedly denied the accusation and said it opposes any attempts to politicise sporting events.

Sport

Tasmanian AFL team becomes reality

Published

4 weeks ago

May 3, 2023

ticker NEWS

Tasmania will have a team in the AFL after all 18 current teams agreed to the motion

An exciting day for residents of the Australian state of Tasmania today.

Outgoing AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirming Tasmania has been granted the league’s 19th licence.

It follows the nation’s federal government confirming it will cover the $240 million shortfall to fund a new multi-purpose stadium at Macquarie Point.

This has long been viewed as Tasmania’s most significant hurdle for entry into the league.

All 18 clubs supported the state’s bid, before the AFL Commission agreed to a formal ratification.

McLachlan fronted a press conference at North Hobart Oval, alongside Premier Jeremy Rockliff, Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles and a whole host of players.

The CEO says the decision “will finally make [the] competitions truly national”. #trending #featured