The West Ham board made a mess of the Kurt Zouma situation, according to former Everton player Pat Nevin.
Zouma has been embroiled in animal abuse controversy recently after a short clip uploaded to social media showed the Frenchman kicking a cat in his home.
The defender was controversially included in the starting XI to play Watford in midweek, 24-hours after a video emerged online of Zouma drop-kicking - and slapping - a cat in his kitchen.
The 27-year old was later fined two-weeks' wages by West Ham for his actions, and his cats were taken from him by the RSPCA.
On Tuesday night, Moyes rationalised the selection of Zouma by saying "he is one of our better players".
While Zouma was included in the starting XI for the game against Leicester at the weekend, the defender was forced to pull out with a reported 'illness' as Moyes explained after the game.
🗣 "There's plenty of managers who had players who made mistakes, somewhere along the line you always hope there's a little bit of forgiveness."
David Moyes hopes that people can forgive Kurt Zouma for his actions pic.twitter.com/FG7dhNdpER— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 14, 2022
"He was ill before the game, wanted to play, we wanted him to play as well. He was sick during the night, he stayed away from the players and did not eat much," Moyes told Sky Sports.
"Once he got out he did not think it was possible. We told Issa Diop to be ready. It is a stomach bug, probably something he has eaten."
Moyes went on to explain how he hopes the controversy surrounding Zouma and the subsequent response from the Hammers does not tarnish the image of West Ham as a club.
"I hope that we have changed a bit of how West Ham is perceived, but more on the pitch. We have a good, exciting young team that we are trying to improve," Moyes said.
Moyes' dealings with the situation have been widely criticised, but former Everton and Chelsea player Pat Nevin said that the West Ham board left Moyes in an impossible position.
"There is no win", Nevin told Off The Ball.
"What you do is, is do the best loss you can in the situation and also if possible, you do the right thing. You do what you think is the right thing."
"Maybe that's where they fell down. A: They didn't see it [The vitriolic reaction] and B: They tried to do the right thing for themselves i.e get the player playing and make sure you get the points. That's where they messed up."
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