Professional cyclist Antonio Tiberi has been fined and temporarily suspended by his team for killing a minister's cat in San Marino.
The cyclist (21) said he was testing the air rifle, pointing it at the cat's head and firing.
The unfortunate cat belonged to his neighbor, the Minister of Tourism and Post of San Marino, Federico Pedini Amati.
The court fined Tiberius 4.000 euros, and his Trek-Segafredo team suspended him for 20 days.
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"The cat didn't bother anyone," Pedini Amati told Corriere della Sera newspaper.
"She was with us for a long time, my three-year-old daughter Lucia loved it.
"You can't kill someone's pet and get away with a 4.000 euro fine," he added.
Trek-Segafredo announced that their team member's actions were reprehensible and that they would donate Tiberio's salary to an animal welfare organization.
"We expect the cyclist to express remorse and become a better person," the team said in a statement.
Tiberi, who was the junior world time trial champion in 2019, recently moved to San Marino.
"I appreciate the guy's confession, but we don't have to grant residency to people like that," said Pedini Amati, a former San Marino leader.
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