French international defender Kurt Zouma is summoned to court on Tuesday, accused of mistreatment of his cat, after a video was broadcast on social networks, we learned on Monday from a source close to the case.
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Yoan, brother of the 27-year-old international, suspected of having recorded and broadcast the video where the West Ham player was seen kicking and slapping his cat, is being prosecuted for complicity.
The facts of which they are accused date back to February 6.
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Both are summoned for a first hearing on Tuesday in London.
The player’s two cats have been taken into the care of animal welfare society RSPCA, which had launched proceedings for Kurt and Yoan Zouma to be prosecuted under animal welfare legislation.
The London club had not suspended their player and had even made him play a match the evening of the revelation of the affair, provoking a huge wave of protest.
The player was finally fined 300,000 euros, the highest possible, imposed by his club, and the sports equipment supplier Adidas had broken a contract with the player.
West Ham had assured that, according to the information available to the club, the cats had “suffered no physical injury”.
The club then assured that the financial penalty imposed on the player had been donated to animal protection associations.