Kurt Zouma’s brother Yoan has been suspended by Dagenham & Redbridge for his role in filming a horrific video of his sibling kicking a cat.
In the footage, Kurt, the West Ham defender, was filmed kicking and slapping his pet cats.
In a statement, the club said: “Dagenham & Redbridge FC would again like to reiterate that it condemns any form of cruelty towards animals and fully understands the reaction of many of its supporters.
Read more: West Ham player Michail Antonio questions public outcry over Zouma cat video
“The Club has therefore decided that until the RSPCA has completed its investigations, Yoan will not play for Dagenham & Redbridge in any competitive match.”
They added that “any further action deemed necessary to be taken will be made at the conclusion of the RSPCA investigation”.
Cats taken into RSPCA’s care
Both cats have now been taken into the care of the RSPCA and Kurt Zouma has been fined £250,000 by West Ham – equivalent to two weeks’ wages and believed to be the “maximum amount possible”.
The RSPCA said in a statement: “Our priority is and has always been the well-being of these cats.
“They’ve been taken for a check-up at a vets and then will remain in our care while the investigation continues.
“We’re grateful to everyone who expressed their concern for these cats. We were dealing with this issue before the video went viral online and are leading the investigation.”
The RSPCA is now leading an investigation, alongside Essex Police, which Zouma is co-operating with.
Shortly after the footage emerged, he issued a statement saying there were “no excuses” for his behaviour and he was “deeply sorry” if the video upset anyone.
Becky Thwaites, head of public affairs at national pet charity Blue Cross, said she fully supported a prosecution.
A Change.org petition, calling on Zouma to be prosecuted, has been signed by almost 290,000 people.
‘Is it worse than racism?’
West Ham forward Michael Antonio has questioned whether his teammate’s mistreatment of his cat was “worse than racism”.
Antonio said he couldn’t condone his 27-year-old teammate’s actions, but questioned the public backlash when football has a problem with discrimination.
Responding to the public backlash, Antonio told Sky News on Thursday: “There’s people that have been convicted and been caught for racism, and have played football afterwards.
“They got an eight-game punishment or something like that, but people are now calling for people to be sacked, for them to lose their livelihood.
“I’ve just got to ask this question to everyone out there – ‘is what he’s (Zouma) done worse than what the people have done that (were) convicted of racism?'”
Sponsors drop Zouma and West Ham
Despite fierce criticism of the player’s actions, West Ham manager David Moyes still named the defender in the club’s starting lineup on Tuesday’s match against Watford.
Zouma was booed by fans, who reportedly heckled “that’s what your cat feels” when he stumbled on the pitch.
The decision to play him was fiercely criticised and on Wednesday, Vitality said it was suspending its sponsorship with the club.
“We are hugely disappointed by the judgement subsequently shown by the club in response to this incident,” it said.
Addidas has also dropped its sponsorship deal with Zouma.
West Ham United Supporters’ Trust treasurer, Kevin Hind, said: “Professional footballers should not be treated like God – if footballers break the law, they should be punished.
“In terms of animal cruelty, if this had occurred in any other field of work, the employee concerned would have been suspended if not summarily dismissed.”