West Ham must reconsider their Kurt Zouma approach amid backlash
West Ham seriously need to reconsider their approach regarding Kurt Zouma before the backlash has an irreversible impact on the club or player.
As commonly known, a video circulated of the Hammers defender abusing his pet cat on Tuesday (February 8).
Surprisingly, David Moyes made the decision to start the French international the same day as his side saw off Watford in a 1-0 victory at the London Stadium which left the public outraged.
Increased backlash has caused the Irons to take action with a £250,000 fine for Zouma in conjunction with the RSPCA taking away his cats.
Understandably, many believe a fine isn’t enough for a hugely wealthy footballer with a petition now circulating with nearly 300,000 signatures for the 27-year-old to be prosecuted and all of his animals to be removed immediately.
Zouma’s brother, Yoan, who filmed the disgusting video has been frozen from selection until the RSPCA’s investigation is concluded as per BBC.
He has also been dropped by sponsors Adidas [Goal] and the Irons need to follow suit with the centre-back expected to play against Leicester on the weekend as things stand.
Get a grip
It’s clear why West Ham aren’t acting on this situation to the severity that many want – it simply isn’t beneficial enough for them (at the moment).
The Hammers are pushing on three fronts with every single game as crucial as the next and Moyes and co can’t afford to lose.
From a footballing and business perspective it makes no sense at all to shun one of the team’s best players who has only just returned from injury giving the Irons a huge boost.
It’s a typical corporate assessment that throwing some money at the issue will solve it but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
West Ham are seriously risking their reputation as a club which they might find difficult to shake if they don’t reevaluate their stance on the matter.
The club is much bigger than Zouma and they can’t afford to drag their name through the mud by not taking appropriate action.
Many Irons are disgusted with how the club have handled the issue themselves, which is very dangerous, especially with how well things have been going this season.
The club needs to see the bigger picture. Maybe they have and footballing and financial success is more important than morale and ethical considerations.
In other Claret & Blue news, West Ham star Declan Rice hailed future England captain.