Football fans mock West Ham United star Kurt Zouma in bizarre stag do after cat kicking incident

A bizarre stag do in Leeds has been doing the rounds on social media - a group of friends have mocked West Ham United star Kurt Zouma in reference to his animal abuse conviction [via the Daily Mail].

In February 2022, a video emerged on social media of Zouma and his brother, Yoan, repeatedly kicking, slapping and throwing a cat in his kitchen. The video was met with widespread condemnation from fans of football and beyond - as a result, the Frenchman was fined two weeks of wages by the Hammers, was sentenced to 180 hours of community service and his two cats were taken away by the RSPCA.

Additionally, his brother was also punished by his team of Dagenham and Redbridge - the Daggers suspended him and he was sentenced to 140 hours of community service.

Referencing this, the group dressed up in West Ham kits with ‘Zouma 4’ on the back. One of their friends (thought to be the groom) was in a cat costume - they proceeded to kick him and chase him into a Cats’ Protection shop. Cats’ Protection themselves have not made a comment on the joke.

While most people on social media saw the funny side of the themed stag do, others took issue with the nature of their sense of humour, noting that animal abuse is a serious issue and should not be made fun of under any circumstances.

Last year, Zouma spoke on the issue, asking the fans for forgiveness. In an interview with the Evening Standard, he said: “I made a mistake, I know - I made a bad one. I have to say sorry again for what I've done, but life is about moving on. My wife and my kids, my family, everybody around me, even at the club, the lads, the fans, people have helped me through everything. It affected me but they helped me and I've kept a smile on my face, because that's who I am.”