Richard Keys has hit out at Karren Brady while claiming the West Ham United vice-chairman has attempted to "excuse" defender Kurt Zouma for his off-field actions.
Brady condemned Zouma's actions after footage emerged of the former Chelsea man kicking his cat, and the Frenchman was fined by the club in the aftermath.
She insisted there was no defence for what the player did and outlined the measures being taken by the club in response to the video footage, which West Ham condemned immediately.
However, the French international kept his place in the team for West Ham's 1-0 victory over Watford on Tuesday night, and former Sky Sports presenter Keys has questioned Brady's calls to offer Zouma forgiveness at this stage.
"Let me be absolutely clear - there is no defence for Kurt Zouma’s actions," Brady wrote in her column for The Sun.
However, she stressed Zouma's recognition of "the severity of his actions" and emphasised her own belief in forgiveness and redemption.
"I want to apologise for my actions. There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret," the defender told The Sun after footage of the incident went viral."
"It has been said before but I can say it again now, because I have seen it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears - he is extremely remorseful," Brady added.
"He has said sorry, and has also apologised sincerely to everyone at the club and the wider public.
"That is an important first step on what will be a journey of re-education and atonement.
"And it is a journey we [West Ham] will fully support him on."
Sharing the headline from Brady's column on Twitter, Keys said "This is hilarious. When did you decide this was the case @karren_brady ? Was it when you realised a £30m asset might get cancelled?"
"It is ridiculous for @WestHam & @karren_brady to try to excuse Zouma," he continued.
"No - it’s not like a driving offence. There are consequences for that - you get banned for a year.
"Zouma is still playing. He’ll earn another £250,000 in a fortnight. It’s a disgrace. He shouldn’t be playing."
In the days since the Zouma footage was shared, Hammers boss David Moyes has also stuck by Zouma on the pitch while referencing the remorse shown by West Ham's number four.
"I'm not condoning him, his actions were terrible. They were diabolical but we've chosen to play him and we stand by that," Moyes said.
"He's incredibly remorseful. Like everybody else, in life sometimes you need a bit of forgiveness. He's hoping he is forgiven for a bad action."
Moyes kept the former Chelsea man in the starting line-up for the victory over Watford, and said Zouma remained in contention to feature against Leicester City on Sunday.
