Manchester United fans brutally trolled Kurt Zouma after the West Ham defender was fouled by Rasmus Hojlund during their clash on Sunday.
French centre-back Zouma was filmed physically abusing a cat in 2022 and has had to deal with various taunts from opposition fans since. Hojlund, who'd scored to make it 1-0 to the home side in the 23rd minute, was defending a corner shortly after and poked Zouma in the eye. United supporters in the Stretford End were heard chanting when Zouma was down: "That's how your cat feels!"
The 29-year-old former Chelsea and Stoke defender was sentenced to 180 hours' worth of community service after pleading guilty to kicking and slapping the cat. Zouma regularly takes stick from supporters of other clubs and social media users often enjoy making a dig at him.
One posted during Sunday's match: "Zouma has gone down like a cat being punched in the face by a professional athlete." Another added: "Wonder if the cat he kicked went down as easy as him after a finger in the face."
Zouma expressed his "great remorse" over the much-criticised incent during an interview in 2022, telling West Ham's website: "It's been a difficult spell for me and my family. Obviously I have done something very bad and I apologise again for what I’ve done. I know it was very tough for people to watch and to see that and obviously I feel very, very sorry.
"I have great remorse about it and now I’m trying to move on with my family and looking ahead. I learned from it, that's the most important thing, I would say. Obviously, I had support from many, many people around me who helped me stay focused on football and I try to stay happy.
"The club has been unbelievable with me, the support that I received from my teammates, from the staff, and everyone at the club, and even from the fans, has been unreal, and they helped me stay focused on the game, to try to do my best on the pitch all the time and, obviously, I can’t thank them enough for what they've done. This club is like my family."
His brother, Yoan - who admitted one count of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring his older brother to commit an offence - was ordered to carry out 140 hours' worth of community service. Having fined the player, West Ham made donations to nine animal welfare charities in the UK and overseas.
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