A SECOND West Ham sponsor has withdrawn support for the club after Kurt Zouma was recorded kicking one of his cats like a football.
The Hammers star, 27, has faced a huge backlash after his brother posted footage on Snapchat showing him abusing the animal at his £2million mansion.
Experience Kissimmee, the tourism authority for Osceola County in Florida, has now dropped its support of West Ham.
In a tweet, the organisation said: “Experience Kissimmee announced today that it has ended its sponsorship of West Ham United Football Club.”
They had earlier said it was “disheartening” to see Zouma starting for the club less than a day after the footage emerged.
Fans from both sides had booed while Watford supporters chanted “that’s how your cat feels” when the star was fouled during the game.
The tourist board’s decision comes after Vitality announced it would suspend its sponsorship of West Ham with “immediate effect”.
It comes as:
West Ham coach David Moyes defended his decision in a press conference, telling reporters: “I am really disappointed and the club have taken all the actions that they can do at the moment.
“They are working on that behind the scenes. My job is to pick the best team for West Ham and Kurt was part of that team.
“I am a big animal lover. As I said, my job is to try and win for West Ham and to put out the best team for that.
“I think the club would rather deal with it all in time and they will let you know what the action is.”
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However, it was later confirmed the French international player would be fined two weeks’ pay – £250,000 – and will not return to the pitch for the game on Sunday.
Both of Zouma’s pets have also been seized by the RSPCA.
The charity is conducting an investigation. It has its own powers of prosecution, meaning that Zouma could yet appear in the dock.
An online petition calling for the Met Police to launch a probe too has netted more than 150,000 signatures so far.
Meanwhile, the crisis is only deepening for Zouma.
He has lost his Adidas footwear sponsorship, and cops in France say he could face four years behind bars.
The defender issued a grovelling apology and said both of his cats are “perfectly fine”.
“I want to apologise for my actions. There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret,” he said.
“I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to anyone who was upset by the video. I would like to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy.
“They are loved and cherished by our entire family, and this behaviour was an isolated incident that will not happen again.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk