[Larry-AV]

The Ched Evans case has brought this matter into sharp focus, especially for fans of football.

Should this person, convicted by a Court of Law, who has been released (as per the norm) midway through his sentence, be allowed to resume his former employment ?

Here is the dilemma.

1} If he had been working for a bank and been convicted of theft from his employer, I cannot see anyone advocating that he should be re-employed there, or any other bank employing him either.

BUT

2} If convicted persons are to be rehabilitated into society, they need to be able to gain employment in order to sustain themselves (and their family, if applicable), else they will be on benefits or worse, fall back into crime.

Another thought to bear in mind is the catchphrase : Done the Crime, Done the Time.
In effect this means that a crime has been committed and paid for, so the slate is clean.

As for Mr Evans, his was a bad crime of course, but worse was that of Lee Hughes, who resumed his football career with Notts County, so convicted footballers can and have resumed their trade.
Another, lesser, offender was Jan Molby.

[Lord Snooty]

Time, place and values.

Ched Evans is a rapist. Twenty years ago, he wouldn't have been in court, never mind jail. I state the case of Peter Beagrie. Never made it to court and is now a respected football pundit, with only Huddersfield Town fans who hated the f*cker bothering to remember to call him a nonce.

Attitudes of society change. It's only recently that the likes of Jimmy Savile have become vilified. The CPS would've laughed at the police if they tried to bring DLT to court on such charges 20 years ago.

What I'm trying to say is that in today's society, there is no place in football for the likes of Ched Evans, but the likes of Lee Hughes may come back, but will get some horrendous abuse.

[turkeydinner]

Very good points

Opposing fans will drag up the past at every opportunity

I hope Sheff Utd`s eventual decision is based on player performance and rehabilitation for someone who has served their sentence rather than sponsorship related issues or peer pressure

Evans has always maintained his innocence, I find the case very interesting

[Lord Snooty]

That's another point. Evans clearly can't see that he's done wrong. The bloke's a complete cock.
Sheffield United should have sacked him on the spot when he was found guilty.

---

And all the talk of him doing his time and should now be able to go back to his job.
Wrong. Not in such a high profile job.

[Larry-AV]

In the matter of Ched Evans, he is a convicted rapist, having been found guilty and convicted in a Court of Law.
He states that he is not guilty and wants to clear his name.

Without going into the details of this case, if a Court of Law overturns his conviction, then he will be not guilty.
If he does become not guilty, then there would be no reason to prevent him resuming playing.

We must be careful in these matters to be guided by the Law, not the Mob.

[Lord Snooty]

He's a rapist. What he and his mates did to that girl was absolutely disgusting. How they got off scott free, God only knows.
So if the ridiculous British justice system let those other dirty f*ckers off, they could pardon Evans if he goes to appeal.
What I can't understand though is his girlfriend. She sat through the court case and heard what a disgusting piece of shite he really is, how he cheated on her, deliberately went and targeted this young girl, got her drunk and then got his mates to film him raping her....and she still stands by him. beggars belief.
This man is a serious sex offender and should be let nowhere near a professional football club. If we have zero tolerance for racism, homophobia and sexism in the game, then we should have zero tolerance for nonces.

[St Charles Owl]

You are correct Snooty, he is a convicted rapist, but he has also served his time and surely therefore he is allowed back into society, albeit on parole, just the same as any other criminal. As regards him coming back to football, then I really cannot see a reason why not!! I might not want him at my club, and I am sure a lot of other fans feel the same, but any offender should be allowed to pursue a life after jail. The high profile nature of his job for me doesn't come into it, as long as his job is not directly connected to the crime as in Larrys initial analogy with the bank, then he should be allowed to play. Of course he has to find a club willing to pay him and take the abuse and attention that comes with employing him, but there will be some club somewhere who will give him a contract.

And since when have we truly had a zero tolerance on racism, homophobia or sexism in football?? Sure the powers that be may say they do but the reality is very different. Any transgression by a player on the field can be dealt with by banning him for a few games, aka Suarez, but once that is done they come back as normal. That is not zero tolerance, its punishment!!

[Thurnscoe_OWL]

Any other employer would look into your background, see he's a rapist and tell him to do one.
Why should football be any different?

And no, he's not served his time. He's out on license, his movements are restricted, he has to make periodic appearances at police stations AND he's on the sex offenders register. He's not allowed to take his girlfriend on holiday because he's a flight risk FFS

[St Charles Owl]

Any other employer would look into your background, see he's a rapist and tell him to do one.
Why should football be any different?

And no, he's not served his time. He's out on license, his movements are restricted, he has to make periodic appearances at police stations AND he's on the sex offenders register. He's not allowed to take his girlfriend on holiday because he's a flight risk FFS

Yes I agree about the employment bit, but even in the big wide world there are employers who will take criminals once released from jail. Football is even more prone to this if the footballer in question is a decent player, and assuming he can regain his form then he is a good enough player for someone to take.

He has served his prison time and is out on parole, so yes he is under restrictions and any club who signs him will have to get permission for him to go to away games etc, but again they will get that permission. I am not saying any of this is right but we all know there is a chairman out there who will sign him and under the terms of the law he is not entitled to try to find employment. I do feel the only ones who will sign him straight away are the blunts, everyone else I think will wait until maybe January, but I do think someone will sign him.

[Larry-AV]

As I said above, we should be guided by the Law in these matters, not the Mob.

The problem here is that Ched Evans is a convicted rapist and has not served his sentence in full.

If either,
a} He completes his sentence in full, or,
b} His conviction is overturned on appeal,
then his current status will be paid for {a}, or reversed {b}.

As things stand at present, those opposing his return to playing hold the moral high ground.