Outrage as West Ham pick Kurt Zouma despite video of him kicking his cat across kitchen

West Ham football club has come under fire from fans after picking Kurt Zouma for tonight's squad despite leaked footage of him kicking his cat. The footballer was named in West Ham's starting line-up at tonight (Tuesday, February 8) Premier League match against Watford, less than 24 hours after he apologised after a video of him kicking his cat across his kitchen floor.

Outraged fans have slammed West Ham's decision to pick the French defender for the squad, describing him as "above the law" and calling for Zouma to be "sacked without question and prosecuted." Earlier today the 27-year-old issued an apology for the video, which was shared by The Sun on Sunday afternoon and is believed to have been filmed and shared on Snapchat by Zouma's brother Yoan.

In the footage, Zouma can be seen picking up the Bengal cat in his kitchen, then drop-kicking it through the air. A second clip shows him chasing the terrified cat around his dining room, then slapping it across the face in front of a child, as the cameraman laughs. The defender was originally thought to be facing at least one match, if not more, on the side-lines.

But angry commentators have since flooded social media with posts of outrage after he was named in the starting XI to face the Hornets in a huge game for the Hammers.

"Really poor decision by West Ham to select Kurt Zouma tonight. Clearly chasing three points is of more of a priority for them than dropping someone," wrote one shocked Twitter-user under the trending hashtag #KurtZouma.

"It’s beyond belief that @WestHam have played @KurtZouma tonight," wrote someone else, who added: "He should be out of a job, never mind in the starting line up. Money over morals clearly, disgrace."

Another person agreed: