There is a chance that Kurt Zouma will not have to report to the French national team for the time being. The West Ham United defender was discredited after images surfaced showing him mistreating his cat and kicking his million-dollar villa. Zouma received a hefty fine from the club and saw the sponsor contract with Adidas end immediately. French national coach Didier Deschamps has now also spoken out about the incident.
Deschamps condemns Zouma’s actions. “It is intolerable, unbearable and cruel. The images are shocking and unbearable,” said the French national coach in conversation with France 3† Despite his scathing reaction, Deschamps refused to rule out in advance that he would not select Zouma again. “I’m not a prosecutor, I’m here to select players based on certain criteria. I’ve seen players make mistakes and not get selected for a while. I’m sticking to that approach.”
Zouma was fined €300,000 by West Ham, an amount that will be donated to animal welfare charities. Adidas has canceled Zouma’s sponsorship contract worth 120,000 euros per year. In the images, which were released by The Sun, is seen as Zouma drops his cat and kicks into the kitchen of his London villa. Then it can be seen that the eleven-time French international is chasing the cat and throwing shoes in its direction. West Ham said it was “shocked” by the images and the animal cruelty.
Zouma is not an undisputed base force in the French national team. Deschamps usually opts for a three-man defense with Raphaël Varane, Jules Koundé and Theo Hernández. Presnel Kimpembe is also an option for the center. Zouma has so far played 11 times on behalf of the national team. The last time he made 90 minutes was on November 16 in the World Cup qualifier against Finland (0-2 win).
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