Newcastle Fans Mock Kurt Zouma With Inflatable Cats Throughout West Ham Game

Earlier this month, a sickening video of Zouma kicking and slapping his pet cat went viral on social media after it was posted on Snapchat by his brother, Yoan.

It is also believed supporters were heard chanting: "Heyyyyyy, Hey Zouma, Oooh, Aahh, I wanna knowww, how you kicked that cat."

"I think he's probably really disappointed about what he's done and he's thinking about it a lot, no doubt, but overall we have tried to get him to move on.

"We want him to concentrate on his training. He played very well for us against Watford the other week there, so we're hoping that we can keep him at those levels of performance - we'll be pleased with that.

"He's really well-liked here amongst the supporters, the performances he's put in throughout the season already, so hopefully he can focus on his football and we'll give him as much support as we can until we get him right back to his best."

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “This is a very upsetting video. It’s never acceptable to kick, hit or slap an animal, for punishment or otherwise.

“We are so grateful to people who report suspected animal suffering to us and we would like to reassure people we will always look into and, if necessary, investigate any complaints made to us about animal welfare.”

West Ham said they would be “dealing with the matter internally.”