David Moyes has defended his decision to start Kurt Zouma against Watford after the West Ham star was caught on video kicking his cat.
Zouma was widely criticised on social media after his brother posted the clip, which prompted calls for West Ham to suspend him and investigate.
The defender was booed by his own fans every time he touched the ball and sponsors Experience Kissimmee have condemned Zouma, saying they are "monitoring the situation" and distancing themselves from Moyes' stance.
Moyes however insisted it was a solely football-related decision, in a defence comparable to Raith Rovers' initial stance over David Goodwillie.
"It's something we're all disappointed with and something we can't understand," Moyes said after Zouma started in the win over Watford.
"He'll learn from it but today I had to pick a football team that gave me the best chance of winning the game as manager of West Ham.
"I know how people feel, but I'm also a football manager here.
"My feeling was that Kurt has apologised and I understand a lot of people will not just be accepting of an apology. But to me he came out and [apologised] honestly and I had to do my job."
Moyes also insisted he's a "big animal lover" but wouldn't let that affect his team decision.
The former Everton and Manchester United boss added: “I’m a big animal lover.
“I’m someone who cares a lot about my dogs and my horses. I was really disappointed with what I saw.
"But overall my job tonight was trying to find a way of getting a win for West Ham. There’s a lot of people disappointed with that and I understand that totally.”
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