LONDON (AP) — West Ham United defender Kurt Zouma has been banned from keeping cats for five years and ordered to carry out 180 hours of community service.
It is a punishment for kicking and slapping his pet cat in abuse caught on video.
The France international received his sentence at Thames Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty last week to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
The soccer player could be seen kicking his Bengal cat across his kitchen, before throwing a pair of shoes at it and slapping its head.
Zouma’s younger brother, Yoan, filmed the incident and posted it on Snapchat. He was ordered to carry out 140 hours of community service