West Ham suspend Kurt Zouma, fine him £250,000 for kicking his cats

Following confirmation that the RSCPA have taken custody of Kurt Zouma's pet cat, after a disturbing clip of the 27-year-old defender surfaced on Monday night appearing to show the Frenchman kicking and slapping his pet cat in his £2 Million mansion in Essex, West Ham have now axed their defender and also issued a £250,000 penalty to Zouma as well.

A statement released by the London club on Wednesday confirmed that Zouma had indeed been fined the "maximum amount possible following his actions in the video".

"The player has immediately accepted the fine, which will be donated to animal welfare charities.

"West Ham United would like to reiterate our condemnation of Kurt’s actions and make it clear that the matter continues to be handled with the utmost seriousness.", the club said.

The French defender will not feature in West Ham's crunch Sunday Premier League fixture against Leicester City.

A huge backlash from the public after the France international was included in the squad on Tuesday night against Watford - where he was booed by both the home and away fans.

The RSPCA also confirmed on Wednesday that it had now seized Zouma's cats.

"The two cats are now in RSPCA care.

"Our priority is and has always been the wellbeing of these cats.

"They've been taken for a check-up at a vets and then will remain in our care while the investigation continues.

"We're grateful to everyone who expressed their concern for these cats. We were dealing with this issue before the video went viral online and are leading the investigation.", a spokesperson for the agency said.

Zouma has since issued a grovelling apology on Tuesday after the video clip, shared by his brother Yoan on Snapchat, had gone viral on social media.