Ched Evans

Yes Deadly, it’s been said loads already in the thread but that’s ultimately what it boils down to. As a criminal he’s served his punishment handed out to him by the courts.

The real reason that there is such a public outcry about the whole thing IMO is due to the fact he’s a footballer. If he was Joe Blogs down the road, 99% of these outraged people calling for him not to be offered a job wouldn’t be shouting about it and signing petitions. They’d most likely just see the headline on the news, have a quick look but largely ignore it.

That’s an appalling scenario but isn’t that a football/football fans problem? I can see where you’re coming from but I still think it’s dodgy.

Yes, it is a football problem and while I’d like to think we could trust fans to behave, I think we all know certain sections of home fans will sing vile stuff and Jesus only knows what will be sung at him when he plays away (see what I did there?). Yes, I realise that it’s not his fault it’s being sung, but the chants will be an indirect result of his actions. We have to listen to vile enough stuff being chanted at football games as it is, but this would be too far…only IMO though.

So, yeah, I see where you’re coming from, and you have more experience of working with offenders than I ever will – your point about them offending when marginalised is strong and one I couldn’t counter. I still think this is a special case…because of lots of different factors complicating the time served (WHICH HE HASN’T 🙂 ), rehabilitation, re-entry into society equation.

FWIW I have a lot of sympathy with DD position crimes like this are more than just normal crimes and the chants will be a serious low point for football and for humanity both “pro” and anti.

However he has the right to return to work and my options are to accept this or try to change law.
I am not sure hounding sex offenders [ or any criminal] helps them or society.

Some of the “support” for him has been shameful.

Proving whether it was rape is so difficult in these cases. Interesting link provided earlier regarding the case which referred to her being drunk but probably not suffering memory loss as claimed.

Odd version of moral relativism.

The “special” nature of football is odd, especially as we have one ex player who has been convicted of various assaults including of a 15 year who is now a TV celebrity. Ultimate +1.

What happens if he gets found not guilty on appeal? Will everyone finally put it to bed and let the guy get on with his life.

I love the phrase “moral relativism” and also use it when I don’t want to or can’t make a point. It’s like “derivative” in music/movie threads.

Will everyone finally put it to bed and let the guy get on with his life.

I can think of one person who might struggle with that.

What happens if he gets found not guilty on appeal? Will everyone finally put it to bed and let the guy get on with his life.

Yes but i thought he did appeal and wasn’t acquitted.

Basically while it’s only fair that offenders are allowed to return to their jobs Evan’s prospective employers are in a publicity fuelled industry and have a commercial decision to make, will the damage to the club of emp[loying a convicted rapist be offset by his contribution to the clubs success. Unfortuneately Oldham seem have to decided that avoiding relegation trumps losing some fans from the backlash of signing him. If he scores goals most of the reamining fans will ‘forgive’ him. 😐

Evans, if he truly believes he is innocent, should have waited until the outcome of the Criminal Case Review before he started trying to get back into football. At the moment he is still legally a convicted rapist and therefore should accept the implications of that status. He should also have kept his head beneath the parapet – instead he has been complicit in the activities of his ‘friends’ and families in the on-going persecution of his victim. He has not come out and publicly told them to stop their campaign. On the radio yesterday it was stated that the website his campaign uses is registered to his address.

People on here should not be making judgements on what happened in the court case and the verdict unless they have fully read all the evidence before the court. There are also thousands of criminals who will claim they are innocent, and until substantive evidence to prove otherwise in a court of law Evans is guilty.

Most of us on here would not be able to return to our jobs if we were found guilty of such a crime. Indeed many on here were probably applauding Hargreaves Lansdown for sacking the guy who made the stupid tweet about running over a cyclist yesterday. If Evans had waited until after the Criminal Case Review Board and was found not guilty, had kept a low profile and had not been complicit in the campaign against the victim, he could have returned to a footballing career with impunity (although many would rightly criticise his degrading and sordid behaviour of getting a taxi to join his mate having sex with a very drunk women whilst other mates filmed it).

If the Criminal Case Review Board finds no evidence to change the conviction, and if Oldham Athletic sign him, I hope that the commercial outfall ends with the club going into bankruptcy and expelled from the league. I feel sorry for the genuine fans of the club who are powerless as their directors pull the pin from the commercial hand grenade!

I’m going to say this again, football is the perfect work place for him, in the public eye and not able to slip into the shadows. He, and most other footballers, should be not considered role models, the press seem to think they are, I suspect most parents would not agree with this.

It’s also worth remembering he’s going back to playing in league 2, can anyone name another league 2 player? They’re not famous at that level, they’re watched by 3 or 4 thousand people per week, it’s not the premier league. They’re also not phenomenally well paid, average wage in League 2 last year was £1300 per week, a good amount but not sky high, I would imagine Evans will be getting somewhat less than that as well as he’s not exactly in demand at the moment.

Yes, he’s a scum bag, but he’s a scum bag with a legal right to work and football is a very good place for him to do so.

Yes but i thought he did appeal and wasn’t acquitted.

His request to appeal was turned down (i.e. there hasn’t yet been an appeal). That request doesn’t itself question the verdict from the jury but looks at factors like whether the guidance given by the judge was correct and lawful and also if any new evidence had come to light.

The case is currently being reviewed by the Criminal Case Review Commission and I think that’ll be considering if there has been a possible miscarriage of justice.

Evans, if he truly believes he is innocent, should have waited until the outcome of the Criminal Case Review before he started trying to get back into football.

Normal timescales for that are 18 months and his case would normally been a low priority as he’d already been released, so that might have been a long wait. It’s been fast-tracked now though.

For me the legal side is separate from the employment issue. The legal side has completed its role, appeals notwithstanding, and now it moves on to the ramifications for his future.

For me it comes down to this: which organisation wants this man on their payroll? If Oldham, or whoever, think he’s worth the risk then that’s their call. Personally, it appears to be a terrible idea. I can’t imagine the fans or the sponsors wanting this at all. Maybe Oldham are desperate? Maybe Oldham fans are desperate? Maybe football in general is just a desperate business?

p.s. I’m no football fan and stopped watching it some time back.

Another important question remains – are the sponsors of these clubs up in arms because they don’t think he should play for the club they sponsor due to his conviction or simply because they see it as a PR disaster for them if they are associated with him and get their name plastered all over the medias?

Both. Whoever runs the PR at Oldham must be crackers.

On the radio- decided not to sign him. Maybe he should take a sabbatical and wait. After all his old club paid him handsomely whilst he was in jail (160k) so he can’t be that down on his luck based on that alone for now.

”enormous pressure from sponsors and threats to staff and their families”.

I think this is shameful, I really do. None of this is making anything more ‘right’ or solving anything. It’s a witch-hunt, pure and simple.

The internet used as an old fashioned lynch mob to threaten folk for not braking the law

There are no winners here.

Whoever runs the PR at Oldham must be crackers.

We were on about this last night. Mrs Binners knows the girl who does the PR at Oldham Athletic (I’ve met her a few times on charity do’s at Ice Station Zebra). Being not remotely camera shy (to say the least) – the fact that she’s been noticeable by her absence suggests she’s not happy fronting this one.

That, or she’s being good at her job (she is!), and telling them what they don’t want to hear – that this is PR suicide -and has therefore been sidelined/told to shut up

Agreed @JY

“enormous pressure from sponsors and threats to staff and their families”.

I call Shenanigans on this. Partial reporting, unknown sources, over-heard comments. Where did this originate from? Beeb and the media hamming it up again to sensationalise.

There are no winners here.

I’d argue the sponsors that boycotted Oldham have won a perceived moral victory, especially in terms of presenting themselves as whiter than white.

I’m very sorry. There I’ve said it, can I have a job now please?

The apology that isn’t really an apology seems to be frightfully fashionable nowadays

There are no winners here.

pretty bad if it did happen

Partial reporting, unknown sources, over-heard comments. Where did this originate from?

bbc didn’t seem to offer details, just mentioned threats in the headline.
But depressingly believable, internet abuse is quite prevalent lets face it.

Oldham have said no to him now………though apparrantly he is taking it as a yes .

This guy is showing he’s colours. Or his brain.

edit. change of news

I seem to remember that Oldham have a track record for employing jailbirds – Lee Hughes?

It should be remembered that the Criminal Cases Review Commission is not a formal part of the Appeal Process it can only refer a case to the court of Appeal who will then make a further decision to uphold conviction quash conviction or order a retrial.

The previous link to the crimeline summery which itself links to the full transcript of the judjments suggests the court has fully considered all of the possible versions of potential Appeal including Evan’s two different defences at trial “she can’t have forgotten through drink so she must be a liar” and at appeal “she can’t have formed short term memories by virtue of drink but would still have had immediate working memory so could well have had capacity to consent and indeed did consent but now can’t remember doing so.”

The court of appeal believed the case was one of classic jury issues who do you believe? are you sure of guilt? the court points to the two different verdicts to demonstrate the process was fair to the defence and that the jury properly weighed up all the evidence .

To my limited experience it seems very unlikely that the CRCC would come up with anything that would justify a referral back to the court of appeal and even less likely that the C of A would order a retrial or quash outright .

Oldham have said no to him now………though apparrantly he is taking it as a yes .

Very good. Although the truth is that they did say yes to him, then changed their mind, and he’s been left in the lurch as a result.

theotherjonv

ah that old chestnut, the issue of consent

I don’t think he’ll spy a vunerable woman walking past and cohere/lead her to his hotel where his mate can film the event for prosperity again.

I don’t think he’ll spy a vunerable woman walking past and cohere/lead her to his hotel where his mate can film the event for prosperity again

That was McDonald’s role in the case and he was found not guilty.

I don’t think he’ll spy a vunerable woman walking past and cohere/lead her to his hotel where his mate can film the event for prosperity again.

Hopefully it will act as a warning to others too.

Oldham’s statement is online. Reads like somebody talked them into trying to sign a convicted rapist and that the whole issue was forced on them… 😕

“…we’d like to thank everybody who supported the club through this difficult period…” (Or words to that effect)

#prayforOldham
#prayforChed

In the article above, it states that someone’s daughter will get raped if they sign him. I truly despair 🙄

Jane – with no source or evidence. Sensational journalism.

If you sign a rapist which we are abhor we’ll rape you.

Doesn’t make sense hence its a story from a story (Chinese whispers).

More than likely someone said ‘how would you like it if you were the one raped’. This was retold and then reported twisted and it makes a catching headline so why not run it?

Seen the been website run sensational headlines before (unrelated) which I complained about and received an explanation/apology.

Doesn’t make sense

you loiter on the internte do you think everyone out there makes sense?

and yes your entirely drawn from your imagination account with no actual evidence or information on the story is almost definitely the correct one.

Best get back to lecturing us about things on the internet making sense