Michail Antonio has hit out at calls for Kurt Zouma to be sacked by West Ham in the wake of the scandal involving his pet cat.
Since the story broke late on Monday night West Ham United have been deluged with calls, mainly from individuals posting on social media, urging the club to dismiss the player after he was filmed hitting the animal.However Antonio has questioned whether the response is proportional in relation to other high-profile cases, in which he cited recent incidents of racism where players have been allowed to pursue their careers despite having been found guilty.
West Ham's number nine was pounced upon in his car by a journalist when entering the club's training ground on Thursday morning and asked whether he felt his colleague should receive a harsh punishment.
I've got a question for you, "he responded. "Do you think that what he [Zouma] has done is worse than racism?
"I'm not condoning what he's done, I don't agree with what he's done at all - but there's people who have been convicted of racism and played football afterwards.
"They got punished, with an eight-game ban of something like that - but people are calling for Zouma to be sacked and to lose his livelyhood.
"I've just got to ask this question to everyone out there - is what he's done worse that what those people convicted of racism did?"
West Ham's Michail Antonio has questioned the reaction to Kurt Zouma kicking his cat, asking if it's worse than players convicted of racism. pic.twitter.com/QchAIeXOsT
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 10, 2022
Meanwhile sports giant Adidas, who cancelled their sponsorship of Zouma in the wake of the incident have this morning been accused of racism as a result.
That's because the German firm previously only warned Liverpool star Luis Suarez after he was found guilty of making racist comments towards Manchester United's Patrice Evra eight years ago. Suarez was given an eight-match ban by the FA and fined £40,000. Zouma has already donated £250,000 to animal charities.
* A second club sponsor, Experience Kissimmee have ended their relationship with West Ham United in the wake of the incident. That followed an announcement by Vitality Insurance on Wednesday that they too were bringing their partnership with the club to an early end.
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