Daggers' central defender Yoan Zouma has mindlessly triggered football's latest worldwide scandal by capturing the unanimously-condemned footage of his brother Kurt inflicting violence upon a visibly distressed cat, in which he is entirely complicit having not only declined to intervene but actively expressed wholly misjudged laughter towards the events.
The collateral damage to the club extended far beyond merely disrupting preparations for their FA Trophy fifth round clash with Spennymoor Town and the subsequent decision to suspend him from competitive football, following a brief period of deliberation, has incredibly dominated the headlines almost as much as the incident itself - to such an extent that it was featured as the top breaking news story on Sky News amongst other sites while also making the newspapers a day later. However, this hasn't prevented a barrage of abuse from a vocal contingent within society, firstly animal lovers advocating sponsorship boycotts - despite the Daggers conducting themselves with commendable diligence from the very outset - then those redirecting the racism rhetoric initially voiced by Michail Antonio which, while raising valid questions about where clubs draw the line on moral reprehensibility, interestingly provided a handy distraction technique from the intensifying heat around his employers West Ham distastefully fielding Kurt Zouma in their starting line-up a night prior.... Social media, though, only masquerades as the real world rather than being a microcosm of it and even acknowledging the above comments - perpetuated by people unable to pinpoint Dagenham on the map let alone aware of anything about the club - does them an undue service to be honest. Yet one undeniable truth underpinning the saga is economics. Had Kurt Zouma been a dispensable academy player as opposed to a lucrative 30 million signing then it's very plausible that West Ham may have taken a more socially favourable stance. Similarly, it could be theorised, would Dagenham were it was one of our more important players. Many would argue that squad status is irrelevant but naturally it will always play a sizeable role in situations like these. If he's unceremoniously booted out of the Hammers then there would be an endless queue of sides desperate to take advantage. Thus, a debate has also rightfully materialised about whether Zouma should receive a harsher institutional punishment than players who have committed considerably worse offences within the footballing world, such as Marcos Alonso, Luke McCormick and several others. Either way, it's an enormous relief to have footballing matters to focus on this weekend as focus shifts to Spennymoor Town, where a victory would leave us two games from Wembley.
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WRITERArchives
January 2024
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