As West Ham prepared to face Leicester City yesterday, all eyes were on one man. The French international Kurt Zouma was West Ham's star defender, bought from Chelsea for £29.8m. But it was not his skill he would be judged on - rather his behaviour off the pitch. The crowd made it clear what they thought: before the warmup was over, they had booed him back to the dressing room.

The fans were reacting to a video on social media. It shows Zouma laughing as he chases his cat around the kitchen. When he catches it, he kicks it across the floor and then slaps it across the face.

The videos caused an outcry after they were reported in The Sun last week. But despite the backlash, West Ham's manager David Moyes has continued to include the defender in his starting line-up.

Moyes has spoken out about his decision: "We're all really sorry," he said, "But the club is dealing with that and my job is to try and get the best team on the pitch."

For many, it was not enough. One fan described Zouma's behaviour "appalling and wrong and disgusting". Gary Lineker called the decision "tone deaf". And in an interview with the BBC, TV presenter Chris Packham spelt out exactly why it was so bad: "If a footballer had released on social media a video of him taking drugs or beating his wife or girlfriend or his children, there was no way that he would have been on the pitch," he explained, "What David Moyes showed was that he had no regard for people's opinions or public standards when it came to animal welfare."

Footballers, Packham added, are role models for millions of people. "Look at Marcus RashfordThe Manchester United player has campaigned against racism, homelessness and child hunger and promoted literacy. - a tremendous young man who's done an enormous amount of social and political good in this country." Packham fears that not punishing Zouma sends a worrying message to young people in the country that it is acceptable to be cruel to animals.

Zouma has now made a public apology and the RSPCAThe Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. has taken his two cats into care. West Ham has fined him two weeks' wages - £250,000. The French international team has gone as far as to ban Zouma from playing for the side throughout March. And now, over 200,000 people have signed a petition calling for him to be prosecuted. 

Despite these developments, Moyes has refused to drop the defender. On Friday, he described Zouma as "a really good lad". He continued: "Many of us in our lives have made mistakes". Apprentice star and Vice-Chairman Karren Brady agreed, defending her colleague this weekend, saying that the club's values included giving people "second chances" and calling for forgiveness. 

For many though, this is just another instance of a football club turning a blind eye to criminal behaviour. Earlier this month, the crime writer Val McDermid withdrew her sponsorship of Raith RoversA Scottish Championship team based in Kircaldy. after they signed a player who has just been made to pay £100,000 in damages in a civil claim for rape. The signing, she said, "shatters any claim to be a community or family club".

Yes: The evidence of Zouma's cruelty is there for all to see. By behaving as he did, he set a terrible example for his fans. For David Moyes to select him was equivalent to saying that it did not matter.

No: As a manager, Moyes is just supposed to focus on what happens on the pitch. What team members get up to in their private lives has nothing to do with him unless it affects the way that they play.

Or... The decision cannot have been down to Moyes alone. Everyone in West Ham's management must have been involved, so they should all take responsibility and offer their resignations - including Moyes.