President of the European Council Donald Tusk has uploaded a video onto Twitter in which he whacks a football into the face of his pet dog.

The former Polish Prime Minister can be seen playing football in the snow as the dog joins in, before he hits the ball at close range into the animal’s face.

The dog looks unperturbed and carries on playing, as Mr Tusk uploaded the video with the caption, “do not worry about Robert’s injury.”

Users on social media expressed concern for the dog’s safety, with Twitter user Luke James writing, “European Council president is much better at football than expected but not so hot on animal welfare.”