Kurt Zouma faces being axed from the France squad over the video of him attacking his cat.
France coach Didier Deschamps has described Zouma’s abuse of one of his pets as “shocking and intolerable” and has indicated he could drop the West Ham defender.
Deschamps will name his next squad next month ahead of two friendlies against Ivory Coast and South Africa as France gear up for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
“I was very surprised on Kurt’s part,” said Deschamps in an interview with France 3.
“It’s unacceptable, intolerable, cruelty without name.
“These images are shocking and intolerable.”
Deschamps also discussed the potential implications on Zouma’s selection for the March friendlies, saying “I’m not a prosecutor, I’m here to make selections based on other criteria.
“It has happened that when players have made mistakes I leave them out for a while. I won’t change my way of progressing for the next list.”
Zouma has been fined £250,000 by West Ham, had his Adidas boot deal cancelled and had his two cats seized by the RSPCA.
Essex police have confirmed that they are liaising with the RSPCA over the video.
Over 300,000 people had signed an online petition calling for Zouma to be prosecuted for animal cruelty.
