West Ham MUTINY: Stars to demand pay rises after cat-kicker Kurt Zouma revealed as club's top earner

West Ham face a player mutiny over wages after Kurt Zouma's fine for kicking a cat confirmed his weekly salary and his position as the club's top earner.

Sportsmail understands there is dissatisfaction among a clutch of players that Zouma earns significantly more than they do with some ready to address the issue with the club after it was widely reported Zouma's fine - donated to the RSPCA - of two weeks' wages equalled £250,000.

Speculation about Zouma's West Ham wages were rife at the club's training base when he arrived from Stamford Bridge last summer - but the real figures were unconfirmed. But not anymore.

West Ham have been hit in the pocket this week as sponsors Experience Kissimee and Vitality have suspended their relationships with the club following the video of Zouma kicking his cat coming to light.

And now the Hammers face the prospect of players asking for sharp pay increases. Michail Antonio, who recently signed a new deal, and Andriy Yarmolenko both earn in the region of £100,000-per-week inclusive of bonuses.

But a clutch of players who are deemed just as important as Zouma, including the likes of Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek, Pablo Fornals and Vladimir Coufal, earn significantly less.

Sportsmail understands there is a sense inside the Hammers' squad that the public backlash against Zouma has been over the top - and his team-mates are rallying round the defender, who will avoid an FA punishment for the shocking episode as it did not occur on the pitch or involve racism.

The pressure on West Ham to make Zouma unavailable for selection intensified after Dagenham & Redbridge suspended the defender's brother Yoan, who filmed his sibling abusing the cat before uploading the footage on social media, pending the RSCPA's investigation.

Former goalkeeper Chris Kirkland demanded Zouma be sacked by West Ham, saying he would not play with the defender and that he expected his career in England was over.

He also claimed the Zouma incident was worse than racism, a stance which has left the ex-Liverpool stopper with his own backlash to handle, with his view having not gone down well with many within the game.

Reflecting the mood among West Ham's players, striker Antonio said: 'I'm not condoning a thing that he (Zouma) has done - I don't agree with a thing that he's done at all.

'But there's people that have been convicted, been caught for racism and have played football afterwards. They got punished, they got a eight-game ban or something like that.

'But people are now calling for people to be sacked, to lose their livelihood. I've just got to ask this question to everyone out there … is what he's done worse than what the people have done who have been convicted for racism?'

Social media has been awash with similar assertions, that Zouma's public condemnation - particularly sponsors Adidas' decision to drop him as a client - has racist undertones. The sportswear giants stuck with Luis Suarez after he racially abused Patrice Evra and bit Giorgio Chiellini.

The FA will not pursue any disrepute charge against Zouma because the incident is not related to football. While it is understood FA chiefs are privately condemning the defender's actions, the governing body will not be taking it any further.