West Ham defender Kurt Zouma has pleaded guilty to two charges related to a video that showed him kicking and slapping his pet cat.
Zouma sparked outrage in February when a video of the abuse was filmed by his brother Yoan and posted on Snapchat.
The cat, along with another owned by the West Ham defender, has since been taken away and moved to a new home.
Yoan, who plays for English fifth-division side Dagenham & Redbridge, pleaded guilty to one count at a hearing at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Sentencing in the case will take place on June 1.
Zouma, who has apologized for his actions, lost a sponsorship deal with Adidas in the aftermath of the incident and was also fined two weeks of salary by West Ham.
Amid an outcry over Zouma’s actions, however, Hammers manager David Moyes continued to pick the defender.
Prosecutor Hazel Stevens told the court on Tuesday that in the video Zouma could be heard saying: “I swear I’ll kill it, I swear I’ll kill it.”
“Since this footage was put in public domain, there has been a spate of people hitting cats and posting it on various social media sites,” she added.
“Their behavior falls short of what is expected of a high-profile image.”
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