West Ham have been criticised for picking Kurt Zouma less than 24 hours after a video emerged of the defender dropping, kicking and slapping his pet cat.
Zouma has apologised for his actions after being condemned by his club and animal welfare groups, while Essex Police have confirmed they are liaising with the RSPCA as part of their “urgent enquiries”.
Yet despite the widespread condemnation of the video, Hammers manager David Moyes controversially stuck with the 27-year-old for their Premier League match against Watford on Tuesday night.
“It’s a strange one,” former West Ham midfielder Joe Cole said on BT Sport. “I think it will go down very badly with the public by starting him. I think it’s a miscalculation.”
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Asked whether the video had influenced his selection decision, West Ham manager David Moyes told BT Sport: “No, because he’s one of our better players.
“But it’s certainly ongoing and the club are dealing with it, so that’s a separate matter.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former West Ham defender James Collins said: “I think there is a lot of anger about [Zouma being picked] and rightly so. “It’s a big call from the football club, I personally don’t think it is the right call.
“I don’t think the club should have made him available for the game. I think there should be some sort of sanction against him. It’s a huge call from the club but in my opinion they have got it wrong.”
The RSPCA said it had received “lots of messages on social media” about the incident.
An spokesperson for the charity said: “This is a very upsetting video and we’d like to reassure the public that we are investigating.
“We cannot comment further at this time but we’re grateful to everyone who has brought this to our attention.
“We have received lots of messages on social media and our other channels, so we’re urging people to only contact our national cruelty line (0300 1234 999) if they have new or first-hand information.”
After the clip emerged, West Ham criticised Zouma’s actions.
“West Ham United unreservedly condemns the actions of our player, Kurt Zouma, in the video that has circulated,” the club said in a statement.
“We have spoken to Kurt and will be dealing with the matter internally, but we would like to make it clear that we in no way condone cruelty towards animals.”
Zouma, who joined the Hammers from Chelsea in August 2021, has also released a statement, apologising for his actions and expressing his regret.
“I want to apologise for my actions. There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret,” Zouma said.
“I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to anyone who was upset by the video. I would like to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy.
“They are loved and cherished by our entire family, and this behaviour was an isolated incident that will not happen again.”
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