West Ham were widely criticised for starting Kurt Zouma on Tuesday night after footage emerged of him kicking his cat in his kitchen — with manager David Moyes explaining he is ‘one of our better players’.
The Premier League club had released a statement in which they ‘unreservedly condemned’ the player’s abuse of his pet, adding they ‘in no way condone cruelty towards animals’. Yet they then started the 27-year-old Frenchman against Watford.
Zouma’s name was booed when read out at the London Stadium and he was jeered on the ball by Watford supporters. The away end also chanted ‘RSPCA’ towards the £29.