Richard Keys SLAMS ‘ridiculous’ Karren Brady and West Ham for trying to ‘excuse’ Kurt Zouma… as the ex-Sky man states the cat-kicking defender’s actions are ‘not like a driving offence’
- Karren Brady says that Kurt Zouma should be forgiven after hurting his pet cat
- The West Ham defender was filmed dropping, kicking and hitting the animal
- Broadcaster Richard Keys has slammed Brady as ‘ridiculous’ for her comments
- Zouma has been fined £250,000 by West Ham but continues to play for the club
Richard Keys has slammed West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady after she called for forgiveness for cat-kicking defender Kurt Zouma.
Footage of Zouma hitting and kicking his pet cat was released on social media earlier this week and caused huge controversy, with many calling for the Hammers to sack the 27-year-old.
The Premier League side publicly condemned Zouma and fined him two weeks’ wages worth £250,000, but David Moyes still selected the French international for the game against Watford on Tuesday night.
Richard Keys (left) slammed Karren Brady for her views on cat-kicking defender Kurt Zouma
Brady wrote in her column for The Sun that people should forgive Zouma, who is ‘remorseful’
Writing in her column for The Sun on Friday, Brady said that there was ‘no defence’ for Zouma’s actions, but that she values ‘the fundamental human qualities of forgiveness and redemption’.
She added that Zouma has shown ‘genuine remorse and regret’ and that West Ham believe in ‘giving second chances’.
Broadcaster Keys, 64, took to Twitter to criticise Brady for her comments.
‘This is hilarious’, he wrote. ‘When did you decide this was the case @karren_brady? Was it when you realised a £30m asset might get cancelled?’
In a later tweet, Keys added: ‘It is ridiculous for @WestHam & @karren_brady to try to excuse Zouma. No – it’s not like a driving offence.
‘There are consequences for that – you get banned for a year. Zouma is still playing. He’ll earn another £250,000 in a fortnight. It’s a disgrace. He shouldn’t be playing.’
Zouma became the third-most expensive signing in West Ham’s history when he signed for £29.8million from Chelsea last summer. He is also the highest paid player in the current squad.
Despite the footage being released, Zouma was still picked to play for West Ham this week
Zouma has been widely condemned after a video emerged of him allegedly hitting the animal
Meanwhile, Moyes has confirmed that Zouma will once again be available for selection when West Ham play Leicester City on Sunday afternoon.
‘We all make mistakes in life,’ the Hammers boss said. ‘I am not condoning his actions. We all accepted they were diabolical. But we’ve chosen to play him and I stand by that.
‘He is really remorseful and disappointed in his actions. There will be reactions at football grounds, which he will have to expect and rightly so. He played the other night and I thought the West Ham supporters gave him a good reception.’