January 5 – An English lower-league club is under pressure not to offer a convicted rapist a contract as debate over whether he should be given a chance to resume his footballing career after serving a jail sentence intensifies.
Welsh international striker Ched Evans has reportedly been in talks about signing for League One club Oldham in the third tier of English football.
Evans, formerly of Sheffield United, has been without a club since he left prison in October after serving half of a five-year term for rape. Debate is split over whether he should be given a second chance but an online petition against Oldham signing Evans, who has played 13 times for Wales, has already been signed by around 20,000 people.
On Evans’ release from prison, Sheffield United initially offered him use of their training facilities but that was quickly withdrawn following a ferocious backlash.
On Sunday, Gordon Taylor, boss of England’s Professional Footballers’ Association, told the BBC: “Evans is a footballer. He wants to return to society as a footballer, so he does need an employer to take him on.”
Evans maintains his innocence but his victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is reportedly struggling to get on with her life and may have changed her name several times.
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