David Moyes says he was left very "disappointed" by Kurt Zouma and understands that many people will not like his decision to allow the West Ham defender to play against Watford on Tuesday night.
Zouma lined up for the Hammers less than 24-hours after footage emerged of him kicking and slapping his pet cat.
The 27-year-old, who has apologised, has been roundly criticised by the club and the RSPCA, who are investigating the incident alongside Essex Police.
Despite the condemnation from the club and the public outcry, Moyes stuck by his decision to start the France international in West Ham’s 1-0 win over Watford, stating it was a separate issue from footballing matters.
"I am really disappointed, the club have taken all the actions they can do at the moment and are working on that behind the scenes," said Moyes.
"My job is to pick a team and pick the best team to give me the best chance at West Ham and Kurt is part of that team.
"Of course there will be people who are disappointed with that and I understand that totally.
"For me yeah [there is a moral side to it], because I am an animal lover and I think it is something which will have affected a lot of people."
Moyes has seen the video and was taken aback by the actions of his player.
"We’re all of the same feeling that it was something that was completely out of order and something we didn’t expect from Kurt," Moyes said.
"We really didn’t. We didn’t see that in his character, we’ve not seen that from him in anything we’ve come across with him."
