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Ched Evans to train with Sheffield United after PFA request Ched Evans to train with Sheffield United after PFA request
(32 minutes later)
The convicted rapist Ched Evans will train with his former club Sheffield United later this week. Sheffield United have been heavily criticised by campaign groups after confirming that convicted rapist Ched Evans would be allowed to return to training with them.
Evans, who was freed from prison last month after serving half of a five-year sentence, has divided opinion as to whether he should return to the club for whom he scored 35 goals in 42 appearances in the 2011-12 season. While it said no decision has yet been made over the hugely contentious question of whether to re-sign their former top scorer, the club appears to be paving the way for his return by agreeing to the request by the Professional Footballers’ Association.
As many as 157,000 people signed a petition urging Sheffield United not to re-sign the 25-year-old, who maintains his innocence and released a video statement on his personal website last month stating his intention to return to football. The fate of Evans, who served two and a half years of a five year sentence for the rape of a 19-year-old woman before being released on licence last month, has sparked a wide ranging public debate over whether he should be allowed to return to professional football.
However, a statement released on Tuesday afternoon confirmed that Evans will be allowed to train with his former club after receiving a request from the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA). The striker, who cost Sheffield United £3m and whose contract ran out while he was in prison, was originally refused leave to appeal but has now taken his case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission and is the subject of a well funded campaign to clear his name.
“According to the request, this training would be with a view to enabling Mr Evans to get back to a level of fitness, which might enable him to find employment in his chosen trade,” read the statement. In the first public comment on the case made by the club since Evans was released, Sheffield United said that the PFA had approached it with a view to allowing Evans to regain his fitness by training with the club.
“This request has come to the club, because it is the last club at which Mr Evans was registered before his conviction.” It said it condemned “rape and violence against women in the strongest possible terms” but rejected “the notion that society should seek to impose extrajudicial or post-term penalties on anyone”.
The statement continued: “After due consideration, the board has decided to respond favourably to The PFA’s request and to allow Mr Evans to train at the club’s facilities.” It added: “The club recognises that the same justice system that tried, convicted and punished Mr Evans under law also provides for his rehabilitation under law.”
The Sheffield United manager, Nigel Clough, has maintained that any decision to re-sign the striker will rest with the owners, Prince Abdullah Bin Musa’ad Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, and Kevin McCabe. But the statement adds that “the club is not prepared at this time to decide that issue”. PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has been supportive of what he sees as Evans’ right to return to work after being punished within the law.
Sheffield United, whose manager Nigel Clough has said the decision would be made by the club’s board, said it agreed with the PFA’s view “to the effect that professional footballers should be treated as equals before the law, including in circumstances where they seek to return to work following periods of incarceration”.
Evans was jailed in April 2012 for raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room in Rhyl, North Wales following a night out. His victim was later forced to change her name and move house after receiving abuse over social media and being named on Twitter.
A petition calling on Sheffield United not to re-sign the striker has attracted over 157,000 signatures and campaign groups said that his return to a high profile role would send out the wrong message.
End Violence Against Women Coalition spokeswoman Sarah Green said it was “appalled” at Sheffield United’s decision.
“Footballers are critical role models for young men and women in particular, and the player concerned is now set to return to top-flight football when he has shown no remorse for his crime,” she said.
“The reputation of football and footballers regarding sexism and sexual violence has been severely tested in recent years. It is time to draw a clear line.”
Green called on Sheffield MPs and culture secretary Sajid Javid to intervene.
“Please make it clear to the football clubs and authorities that you believe the very reputation of the game which provides enormous employment and enormous prestige to the UK, is at risk when some of its leaders appear to put profit and success before ensuring that there is zero tolerance of sexual violence,” she said.
The club said it had taken the views of staff, fans and the general public into account. The issue has split supporters of the club. Some have chanted in support of Evans while others have said they will stop going to Bramall Lane if he returns to the squad.
Charlie Webster, a TV presenter and Sheffield United patron who was sexually assaulted as a teenage athlete, has said she will quit her role with the club if they re-sign Evans.
After his release, Evans released a video on his website asking for a “second chance”, protesting his innocence and vowing to clear his name.
“It is my hope that I will be able to return to football. If that is possible then I will do so with humility, having learnt a very painful lesson,” he said.
A statement from the Football League cnofirmed that it would have “no option” to re-register Evans should he bge offered a deal by Sheffield United.
“Having been in contact with Sheffield United, we note the intention of the club to allow its former player, Ched Evans, the opportunity to train at its facilities,” it read. “ Should The Football League receive a request from any of its member clubs to register the player, we will have no option but to accept it - assuming that all other aspects of the proposed registration are in order.
“Ultimately the choice of whether to engage a player that has been released from a custodial sentence will be one for individual clubs who, having ensured that the player has the required permission from the probation service to work in football, will have to make their own assessment of the potential consequences for their public reputation and business affairs, as well as the relationship they have with their own supporters.
“While we fully understand the gravity of the offence in question in this particular case, we also recognise that there is a value to wider society in enabling offenders to be rehabilitated through a return to their chosen line of employment. Equally, however, it is important never to lose sight of the effect that crime has on its victims.
“At its most recent meeting, the Board of The Football League considered the implications for football’s reputation of club’s employing players following their release from prison. The Board has asked its Independent Directors to consider the matter further before reporting back to the Board at a future meeting and then our clubs at an appropriate point.”