Jamaican West Ham striker Mikael Antonio has questioned the reason for calls for his French team-mate Kurt Zouma to be sent off for kicking and slapping a cat, at a time when footballers convicted of racism are still allowed to play normally.
Zuma faced a backlash and harsh penalties after a video spread of him kicking his cat in his mansion, and Antonio - speaking to reporters outside West Ham's training ground - indicated that the public's reaction was very severe against Zuma.
Antonio questioned - today - the fairness of the public reaction, wondering why some footballers who were convicted of racism did not face similar calls for expulsion from their teams and the loss of their livelihoods.
When Antonio was asked about Zuma's actions, his answer was: Do you think what he did was worse than racism?
"I don't condone anything he did and I don't agree with anything he did at all. But there are people who were convicted in court for racism and then played. They were punished, they were banned from 8 matches or something. But now people are calling for Zuma to be fired, I just have to ask everyone this question: Was what he did worse than those who were convicted of racism did?
Michail Antonio has given a powerful response when asked about the situation at West Ham with Kurt Zouma.
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— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 10, 2022
The care of my cat, Zuma, moved to an animal welfare association after a video clip of the player appeared, and Vitality said it had suspended its partnership with the London club and Adidas had canceled its sponsorship of Zuma.
The video, filmed by Zuma's brother Ewan, and quickly spread on social media, showed the West Ham defender dropping the cat and kicking it to the ground.
He was also seen slapping the animal and tossing it with a shoe before chasing it into the house.
As a cat owner, Kurt Zouma's abuse his pet has made me feel physically sick of tonight.
How could someone treat their animal like this for sport and cheap laughs?
He must never own a cat again.
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— Dan Wootton (@danwootton) February 7, 2022
West Ham said Zuma had been fined "the maximum amount possible" and British media reported that the fine was two weeks' salary ($340,000).
The 27-year-old defender agreed to the fine, which will be donated to animal welfare societies.
But West Ham's sponsor Vitality said it would suspend - "with immediate effect" - its $680,000 sponsorship of West Ham.
"We are very disappointed with the ruling issued by the club in response to this incident," she said.
In turn, Experience Kissimmee, one of West Ham's sponsors, confirmed that it is studying its partnership with the club after Zuma's participation in the match that ended with a 1-0 victory over Watford on Tuesday.
The Florida-based tour operator added that it was "disappointed" with Zuma's participation in the match, despite widespread condemnation of his actions.
"We have concluded our investigation and can confirm that Zuma is no longer a contracted athlete with the company," sportswear giant adidas said in a statement.
On the other hand, more than 200,000 people signed an online petition to sue and prosecute Zuma.
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British newspapers reported that Zuma would participate in his team's match against Leicester City, if it was found that the cat did not suffer any injuries during its kick and hit by the player.
West Ham manager David Moyes has defended the decision to sign Zuma despite his disappointment with his player's behaviour, describing himself as an animal lover.
"My job was to try to lead West Ham to victory, and to get the best team involved in order to achieve that," the coach said.
Zuma and his brother Ewan apologized yesterday.
Essex Police said they are investigating the incident.
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A post shared by Kurt Zouma (@kurtzouma)
Zuma, who apologized for what he had done in this incident, was booed by some fans - the day before yesterday - against Watford.
In addition, a legal complaint was filed in Paris with the Public Prosecutor against the player by lawyers working for La Fondation 30 Millions d'Amis, the largest animal rights group in France.
According to Article 113-6 of the French Penal Code, a citizen can be prosecuted for committing criminal acts outside the country.
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A post shared by Kurt Zouma (@kurtzouma)
Strict new animal protection laws were introduced in France in 2021, meaning that "animal abuse" is now punishable by up to 4 years in prison and a fine of 59,000 euros.
Senior French politicians condemned the act of Zuma - who is from Lyon - and called for his expulsion from the national team.
It is noteworthy that West Ham climbed after the last victory to fourth place in the league, one point behind Manchester United.
The club announced that it would deal with the incident internally, and would not in any way condone cruelty to animals.