A cute cat wandered into one of Brazil's World Cup press conferences, and then was literally thrown out

• A stray cat was, quite literally, thrown out of a World Cup press conference in Qatar on Wednesday.
• The feline was grabbed by the neck and thrown off a table by a Brazilian media officer.

A Brazilian media officer left journalists shocked on Wednesday when he, quite literally, tossed a stray cat out of a press conference in Qatar.

Brazil forward Vinícius Jr. was speaking to the media ahead of his team's World Cup quarterfinal match against Croatia when a cat jumped onto the table.

The cat wandered across the table to the unnamed media officer, who proceeded to grab it by the scruff of its neck and throw it on the floor.

As journalists gasped, the media officer shrugged his shoulders, while Vinícius laughed.

Animal rights organization PETA was not impressed, tweeting: "What's this guy's problem?"

According to VetStreet, lifting a cat by its scruff is unnecessary and potentially painful.

"We hope someone is looking after this sweet cat who is probably homeless — just like so many others," PETA added.

Journalist Andrew Gourdie tweeted: "Did he really need to throw it like that?!" while Konstantinos Lianos, a sports reporter for The Sun, called the media officer a "douchebag."

Following the incident, Vinícius was asked about the criticism that has been directed towards Brazil players for their goal celebrations against South Korea in the World Cup Round of 16.

Brazil's stars performed short dance routines after each of their goals in a thumping 4-1 victory, prompting criticism from ITV pundits Roy Keane and Graeme Souness.

"People say it's their culture, but I think that's really disrespecting the opposition," said the former Manchester United player Keane.

Souness, formerly of Liverpool FC, said: "It's only a matter of time before someone goes right through one of these Brazilians."

Vinícius hit back at the pair's comments, telling reporters that the team already has more goal celebrations planned.

"Sure, some love to complain when they see other people's happiness, and we Brazilians are a joyful people, so it will always bother them," he said.

"The goal is the most important moment in football; in a World Cup, it is even more important so it's a moment of joy not only for us players, but for our entire country.

"We still have many celebrations ready, so we need to keep playing better, winning games and stay joyful in the process."

Brazil face Croatia in the quarterfinals on Friday.