That's where stupidity and bad luck come together: The Italian cycling talent Antonio Tiberi shot the cat of the Minister of Tourism in San Marino and was therefore sentenced by a court to a fine of 4000 euros. This is reported by the "Corriere della Serra".

What happened? In the summer of 2022, Tiberi, who lives in San Marino, bought an air rifle and wanted to try it out. So he first shot a traffic sign from the window of his apartment. hit. Then he decided to aim for a cat's head. hit. The cat belonged to Federico Amati, the Minister of Tourism of San Marino. He called the police and the case ended up in court.

There, Tiberi, once a junior world champion in the individual time trial, testified last November, according to the report: "I just wanted to test the range of the gun. I was stupid and then wanted to hit a cat. To my surprise, I actually hit it. I wanted it not kill and was even convinced that my weapon is not lethal."

But she was. The headshot killed the animal on the spot. After the verdict, Amati was disappointed. "You can't shoot a pet and get away with a fine of 4,000 euros," said the politician. If Tiberi had done the same in Italy, he would have been jailed for at least four months.

His racing team Trek-Segafredo then suspended his driver for 20 days on Tuesday, and even without pay. The racing team stated that they had no knowledge of the incident. Tiberi's salary is to be donated to an animal charity. The professional will miss three races, and the team expressly did not rule out an extension of the suspension.