French footballer Kurt Zouma is the subject of a police investigation in England after the broadcast of a video on social networks where he mistreats his cat. Reacting to this case, the coach of the France team Didier Deschamps denounces an act “of unspeakable cruelty” while West Ham, the player’s Premier League club, fined him an estimated 300,000 euros. Another consequence, thehe sports equipment manufacturer Adidas announced on Wednesday February 9 that it had broken the contract binding it to the footballer. For Vincent Chaudel, sports economist and founder of the Sports Observatory business, “it is also a reflection of the starization of players who sometimes are not in touch with real life.”
Franceinfo: What do you think of this case which seems incredible?
Vincent Chaudel: It is a reflection of society in many ways. About the fact that animal abuse is not an acceptable fact, that’s one thing. The fact also that everything is a reputation issue, we see it for the club which immediately sanctions its player. We see it for the sponsor who immediately breaks his contract. And it is also the reflection of the starization of the players who sometimes are no longer in contact with real life and can believe they are allowed everything. This is obviously a mistake. Currently a Premier League player, an international like Kurt Zouma is also evaluated or judged on the size of his communities on social networks. On a network like TikTok, we get spotted and followed by putting a little bit of everything and anything, trying to be out of step. For once, it’s more than a shift, it’s an error on his part, that’s clear.
Do you think there could be other consequences?
You have to find the true reality of things. I think whatever happens, whatever the consequences, he’s going to learn the lesson. In terms of communication and certainly in his relationship with animals, I highly doubt that this is something he will be expected to replicate. We realize today that we are in a media world. We always want more speeches off the field. Since in fact, we are here on an “off-field” phenomenon. And as soon as you cross a line which, in this case, is clearly yellow, it can become very complicated.
Should we advise professional players not to post anything on social networks?
To post nothing or very little, it’s playable for the very, very big ones who don’t really need that anymore. And even when I say the very very big ones, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has more than 500 million fans, continues to post things regularly. I think they should post, but they shouldn’t post just anything, that’s the point. Entrusting this form of communication to professionals may be a solution even if you do not want a smooth message either. We want rough edges. It just has to be good roughness. There, it is obviously not the good channel which was chosen by Kurt Zouma.