Police investigating death threats and racist abuse aimed at Kurt Zouma have come under fire for making no arrests after four months.
The 27-year-old France and West Ham defender is set to complete 180 hours of community service following his cat-kicking incident earlier this year. But despite officers identifying some of the culprits behind the threats to his life, officers have yet to take any action.
Zouma has received over 200 messages, many of which meet the threshold for malicious communication. Some of the abuse included graphic threats to kill, to attack his family, to put him in a wheelchair and widespread use of the ’n’ word. He is understood to have been left shaken by the racists purporting to be animal lovers targeting him and his family.
Given the gravity of the menacing messages, sources close to the player are frustrated at the slow-moving investigation with Zouma unlikely to see any movement, as things stand, until September. When Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha released a tweet claiming he’d receiving racist abuse after a game two years ago, West Midlands Police made an arrest within hours.
Essex police, however, have defended their lack of progress, four months on from the original complaint. A police spokesman said: “We received a report on April 8 of an allegation of malicious communications. Our enquiries are ongoing. We continue to work closely with the Premier League and META to safeguard those involved and identify the people responsible.
“If you have any information, you can submit a report online at https://www.essex.police.uk or use the 'Live Chat' button to speak to an online operator between 7am-11pm. Please quote crime reference number 42/99381/22. You can also call us on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Zouma publicly apologised for the February incident in which he was filmed kicking and slapping a cat. He pleaded guilty to two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal when he appeared at Thames Magistrates Court alongside his brother.
In June he was ordered to carry out 180 hours of community service and banned from keeping cats for five years. He’d already paid a club fine of £250,000 fine to West Ham after the incident with the money distributed to nine cat charities.
The money went to Cats Protection, People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, Pussycat Lodge Trust, Hopefield Animal Sanctuary, National Animal Welfare Trust and Celia Hammond Animal Trust domestically. Humane Society International/UK, International Fund Animal Welfare and War Paws were the three international causes receiving donations from the Hammers.
Zouma also lost a sponsorship deal with Adidas while the club's partners Kissimmee and Vitality pulled their deals after Zouma continued to play under boss David Moyes.
