By: Natasha Archary
Earlier this week a video of West Ham footballer Kurt Zouma kicking his cat caused huge international uproar.
Since then West Ham have fined the player a maximum fee and there are calls from English football fans to suspend the player.
His teammate Michail Antonio questioned why there’s such a strong response to the incident and yet players who were found guilty of racism get off with a simple warning.
Leading the discussion, Sizwe Dhlomo and the Kaya Drive team wanted to know if people place more importance on the lives of pets vs people.
Listen to the Kaya Drive conversation:
Zouma has lost a sponsorship deal with Adidas and the RSPCA has removed his cats from his care.
In the match against Watford during the week, Zouma was booed by fans from both clubs.
Fans are calling for Zouma’s contract to be terminated and in the interim for him to be suspended without pay.
In contrast, his peer Mason Greenwood who was accused of abuse by his girlfriend and was arrested, is still receiving his full salary from Manchester United, despite being suspended.
Videos of Greenwood allegedly sexually assaulting and physically abusing his girlfriend surfaced last month.
He is currently out on bail but per his contract with United he is only allowed to be suspended with full pay for 14-days.
Greenwood will therefore return to training after 14-days although the investigation is still on-going.
The difference between how these two players have been treated in confusing to many fans of the sport and people from different parts of the world in general.
Race aside, there seems to be more emphasis on justice over the cruelty of pets vs people.
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