DON'T **** With Cats. You may have seen the disturbing Netflix true-crime docuseries. After a series of videos posted from 2010 on the internet showed cats being tormented and killed, a group of online animal activists mobilised to find perpetrator Luka Magnotta and bring him to justice. The Canadian native was later, in 2014, convicted of murdering Chinese international student Lin Jun in May, 2012. After years of hunting by the amateur sleuths, police apprehended Magnotta within 11 days of the murder, despite the convicted fraudster having fled to another continent in Germany.

After a video appeared online showing West Ham defender Kurt Zouma dropping and kicking a cat across a kitchen floor, the reaction virtually across the board was similarly one of outrage for the diabolical treatment of a defenceless animal. Quickly, calls for the France internationalist to be sacked by the north London club and his multi-million-pound contract torn up were reverberating against the walls of Twitter.

Instead, he was fined two weeks' wages by West Ham – a punishment they claim was the maximum they could mete out – with the £250,000 sum donated to animal welfare charities. Adidas, too, have dropped the player as a client. That action, apparently, was the end of the matter for the club and manager David Moyes, who included Zouma in his starting line-up just days later for the Premier League clash against Watford. The Scot has reiterated that stance this weekend and insists the former Chelsea stopper will be available for selection against Leicester tomorrow.

Clearly, authorities pay more attention to human suffering than animal welfare. So what can we make of Zouma's West Ham team-mate, Michail Antonio, questioning whether Zouma's actions are "worse than racism". Stopping to speak to the press out of the window of his car, the Jamaica forward insisted he did not condone Zouma's actions, but added: "There's people that have been convicted and been caught for racism, and have played football afterwards. They got an eight-game punishment or something like that, but people are now calling for people to be sacked and to lose their livelihood.

West Ham Uniteds Michail Antonio who has questioned whether Kurt Zouma s mistreatment of his cat is worse than racism

West Ham United's Michail Antonio who has questioned whether Kurt Zouma s mistreatment of his cat is "worse than racism"

"I've just got to ask this question to everyone out there: is what he's [Zouma] done worse than what the people convicted of racism done?"

It's a pertinent question: Is the suffering of animals deemed worthy of greater punishment than human suffering?

As despicable as these actions are, personally, I don't think so. But what does the brutal treatment of a defenceless creature say about the perpetrators' personality? Shouldn't we seek to root out individuals from the sport who fall below a certain threshold of behaviour? If there is to be any bar to be set, however, the actions of Zouma surely have to fall far below it. In any other profession, if a video appeared like the one Zouma is shown in, they would lose their job instantly.

That threshold is important because it applies to the conduct of players in general. I think we're sick of discrimination in football. Over the last couple of years we've seen how football clubs can take a stand against racism through taking the knee in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, or other forms of vile hatred. But if you listen to BAME players in response to this, it is clear that we have only touched the surface. Much more has to be done, and only clubs can manage it – but fans have a huge part to play.

Supporters have a voice in this. You just have to look at the lamentable recent case of Raith Rovers signing convicted rapist David Goodwillie, the uproar that followed, the reaction from prominent fans and long-term community groups who were ready to turn their back on the club over its decision to recruit such an individual. In Scotland, certainly more than is the case in the English Premier League, clubs are utterly dependent on supporters. Even Celtic and Rangers rely on season-ticket sales above all else to pay the bills – including the wages of the players they recruit. This is why fans deserve a say on this matter, and a threshold of acceptable behaviour should be adopted and implemented by all clubs.

David Goodwillies signing for Raith Rovers sparked a severe backlash

David Goodwillie's signing for Raith Rovers sparked a severe backlash

Fans of all clubs should stand up and take notice of who represents them out on the field; whose wages are paid by their hard-earned cash going into the club. The players they cheer on, who their kids look up to, do we just accept the time-served argument as acceptable?

For me, it's simple. What does allowing a convicted rapist to represent your team say about the culture at your club? How can women be expected to feel welcome. Be it misogyny, racism, sectarianism or any other form of discrimination, anyone convicted of such crimes should not be allowed to be involved in the professional game.

Representing a football club is a privilege. Yes, it's a short career and players do have to make the most of it, be that financially or in the pursuit of glory. And of course clubs have to balance the books and there is always weighing-up between the right individual and the right qualities they bring to the team.

But having talents in the game should offer no divine right to take part. Players lose their career through no fault of their own all the time: injury, personal circumstances or for financial reasons. It's a precarious profession, and that's why all players' actions should carry consequences.

If football is to rid itself of hatred and discrimination once and for all, it has to rid itself of the perpetrators of such actions. Their presence can no longer be tolerated.