NEVER mind the RSPCA, Kurt Zouma should be expecting a visit from the League Against Cruel Sports any time soon.
Because the way Spurs tormented the West Ham defender was nothing short of inhumane.
Tottenham secured victory in the London derby against West HamCredit: GettySon Heung-Min sealed the points for TottenhamCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
And anyone watching the video of Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane mistreating the floundering Frenchman will be in little doubt that this was barbaric in the extreme.
Not that he was getting any sympathy from the sadistic Spurs fans revelling in Zouma’s misery as their team won back to back games for the first time since Boxing Day.
It means that Antonio Conte’s team are now up to fifth place in the table, three points behind Arsenal but having played one more game than their bitter rivals.
West Ham are surely out of the race for Champions League qualification and will now need to win the Europa League if they want to compete in Europe’s top competition next season.
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And at least they can take some comfort that they are unlikely to run into a deadlier duo than Son and Kane again this season after this chastening encounter.
It is now six weeks since the video of Zouma booting his pet cat first emerged on the front page of The Sun.
So he’s had plenty of time to become accustomed to the abuse from rival supporters.
But never have the boos been louder than those which echoed around Tottenham’s cavernous stadium every time he touched the ball.
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And it was probably a good job that the majority of the crowd didn’t realise that it was Zouma who actually applied the finishing touch to Tottenham’s ninth minute opener.
The stadium announcer was more than happy to hand the credit to Son, but TV replays confirmed that it was undoubtedly the West Ham defender who had inadvertently bundled Harry Kane’s low cross over the line.
That was the TENTH own goal Spurs have been gifted this season in all competitions and their sixth in the League.
And if they are going to achieve their ambitions of a top four finish, they certainly won’t be able to say they haven’t been helped by their opponents.
Yet Zouma’s misery was by no means finished there and midway through the first-half he was filleted again by Kane’s exquisite through ball to Son.
No partnership has combined for more Premier League goals than Kane and Son and the South Korean wasn’t going to pass up the chance to extend their record as he twisted Zouma this way and that before thrashing his shot into the far corner.
It was also Kane’s 50th Premier League assist, another landmark which probably doesn’t get the recognition it deserves because of the England captain’s incredible scoring record.
Son had already struck the outside of a post as he stretched to reach Dejan Kulusevski’s 11th minute pull back as Spurs threatened to run riot.
But if they thought that West Ham were simply going to roll over and surrender, they were in for a nasty shock when the visitors reduced the arrears in the 35th minute.
Aaron Cresswell’s corner was headed on by Craig Dawson and Said Benrahma was allowed the freedom of the penalty area to volley past Hugo Lloris at the back post.
It was a goal which confirmed that while Son might be deadly in the opponents’ box, he is a liability in his own as he completely switched off to let Benrahma fire home unchallenged.
And that was enough to spark memories of West Ham’s last Premier League visit here, when they scored three times in the final eight minutes to secure an unlikely 3-3 draw.
Spurs are now just three points behind fourth-placed ArsenalCredit: Getty
But any hopes of another comeback should have been put to bed in the 51st minute when Son ripped West Ham apart again on the counter but Kane’s shot was blocked by keeper Lukasz Fabianski.
It was all too much for Zouma, who kicked the ball into the back of Son’s legs as they prepared for the orner and the Spurs striker went down as if he had been shot.
Sergio Reguilon sprinted in to confront Zouma and in the ensuing melee four pitch invaders were bundled away by stewards at both ends of the ground.
And the punters in the massive South Bank stand were not holding back as they waved their inflatable cats and told Zouma exactly what they thought of him in no uncertain terms.
Michail Antonio squandered a glorious opportunity to level when he volleyed over from Cresswell’s 56th minute cross, the striker’s last action before being replaced by Andriy Yarmolenko.
But there was to be no emotional ending this time for the Ukrainian international who had come on to score in West Ham’s previous two games.
Instead it was Son who was left with the final word, racing away to in the 88th minute to score his 14th goal of the season after Kane had outjumped both Zouma and Dawson to flick on Lloris’ long kick.
