Currently under a lot of scrutiny for his actions off the pitch, Kurt Zouma will not be representing France in the upcoming friendlies against Ivory Coast and South Africa.
The West Ham defender, who continues to play for the club following a video showing him hitting his cat was released on social media, was touted as being one of the players to be dropped by Didier Deschamps by RMC Sport on Wednesday, which was the case on Thursday when he announced his squad.
Despite still featuring for the Hammers in the Premier League when fit, Zouma was left out of the 23 chosen by the France manager, who explained his reasoning behind it.
While he acknowledged what was going on with the West Ham player outside of the football world, Deschamps insisted that his decision was purely based on what was going on within it.
He said, relayed by Le10 Sport: “He wasn’t there in October either. In November he was, but Raphael Varane was injured. His absence is first and foremost a sporting choice. I’ve had the chance to speak with Kurt to talk about it. It shouldn’t have happened, it did, but regarding my squad and my choices, they remain sporting choices.”
Despite missing a few games in December and January because of a hamstring injury, Zouma has been a regular presence under David Moyes at West Ham this season, making 21 appearances in all competitions, as well as scoring the one goal, in a 3-2 win over Liverpool back in November.
