Kurt Zouma’s abusive treatment of his pet cat continues to follow him around. While the player’s actions were condemned by many, the Hammers too received heavy flak for not dishing out harsher punishment for the Frenchman.
Having pulled out of the squad during pre-match warm-up against Leicester City, Zouma returned to the starting lineup for the Hammers’ clash against Newcastle on Saturday. The game ending in a draw helped neither side, as West Ham failed to go above Manchester United into the top 4 places.
A clean sheet and a win would have been what Zouma was after on his latest outing but instead, the centre-back had a tough time dealing with Newcastle striker Chris Wood.
But this was a physical test from the ex-Burnley man as much a psychological attack as according to reports, the New Zealander repeatedly taunted the Frenchman for the cat video throughout the match.
According to former Liverpool player and football pundit Stan Collymore, West Ham defender Craig Dawson complained to the referee that Chris Wood was taunting fellow centre-back Kurt Zouma by saying ‘meow’.
“Craig Dawson complained to the referee during the game between West Ham and Newcastle because Chris Wood kept on saying “meeeow” to Kurt Zuma.”
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) February 19, 2022
While he could not get on the scoresheet and get Newcastle a much-needed win to aid their fight to stay in the Premier League, Wood has certainly won favour with supporters of both teams for his antics.
Along with the club, some of Zouma’s teammates such as Michail Antonio also came to defend the call for harsher punishment, perhaps these are some of the ways through which fans can see the odds being evened.
If the report of Chris Wood’s “meowing” is accurate, then the striker is surely going to be a popular figure at Tyneside for the next few days.
