The club want to draw a line now under the Kurt Zouma saga following the sentencing today.

The French international defender was ordered at Thames Magistrates’ Court to carry out 180 hours of community service and has also been banned from keeping cats for five years.

The club, who have always condemned the players actions, now wants to finally move on from the whole sorry episode.

“West Ham United wishes to make clear that we condemn in the strongest terms any form of animal abuse or cruelty,” said a statement from the Premier League club after the sentencing.

“This type of behaviour is unacceptable and is not in line with the values of the football club.

“Within 48 hours of the footage emerging, we fined Kurt the maximum available to the club.

“Every single penny of this money is now with a number of deserving charities, all dedicated to animal welfare.

“Kurt admitted at the earliest opportunity that what he did was wrong. He has apologised without reservation.

“We hope that now the court has reached its decision, everyone will allow Kurt the chance to learn from his mistake and move on.”