Ched Evans

M

marchantsuk

Veteran
 Somerset
I don't condone his crime, far from it, but this media witch hunt is so wrong. The author of the latest petition is a women from London, obviously not an Oldham fan (maybe she is but i doubt it). If he was an accountant or worked in Tesco would he be hounded in the same way?
Found guilty, time served isn't that how our judicial system works?

Discuss?
 
I totally agree with you. I think what seems to behind this witch-hunt is the fact that now he's free, he can still earn "footballer's wages" and many want to punish him more than the custodial sentence he's just served. As it is, he will be permanently stigmatised by having his name on the Sex Offenders' Register, which will permanently prevent him obtaining employment in many different occupations. Do these people simply want Evans to be unable to earn a living at all?
 
The problem is his lack of remorse / unwillingness to accept he was guilty of a crime.

Footballers are supposed to be role models.

He should consider politics instead - will fit right in :thumbsup:
 
[Devil's Advocate]

marchantsuk said:
I don't condone his crime, far from it, but this media witch hunt is so wrong. The author of the latest petition is a women from London, obviously not an Oldham fan (maybe she is but i doubt it). If he was an accountant or worked in Tesco would he be hounded in the same way?
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If he was an accountant or worked at Tesco he wouldn't be in the public eye and a role model for young, impressionable children (although I suppose there are a few kids who look at accountants as aspirational figures). I'm sure that, should he wish to start a new career as a shelf-stacker with Tesco, they'd consider his application....

If he was your local MP, would you welcome him back to his old job....?

marchantsuk said:
Found guilty, time served isn't that how our judicial system works?
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He hasn't served his time - he was sentenced to 5 years, he's served half of it and is out on licence....

[/Devil's Advocate]
 
If he was a Sheffield steelworker I don't suppose there would be much issue with him working in a steelmill. I thought criminals were supposed to be rehabilitated after serving their sentence. If that applies to everyone except footballers then the government should change the law to reflect this. If people wish for rapists to be punished further perhaps the government should pass a law requiring all sportmen to be banned from earning a living playing sport after conviction for certain criminal offences. Stopping him returning to perhaps the only job he can do well seems like further punishment on top of his sentence and is probably against some EU law or other.

Non of this means I condone what he did, I just think there is no precedent in law for further punishment after the sentence is served.
 
Jimbob952 said:
If he was a Sheffield steelworker I don't suppose there would be much issue with him working in a steelmill. I thought criminals were supposed to be rehabilitated after serving their sentence. If that applies to everyone except footballers then the government should change the law to reflect this. If people wish for rapists to be punished further perhaps the government should pass a law requiring all sportmen to be banned from earning a living playing sport after conviction for certain criminal offences. Stopping him returning to perhaps the only job he can do well seems like further punishment on top of his sentence and is probably against some EU law or other.

Non of this means I condone what he did, I just think there is no precedent in law for further punishment after the sentence is served.
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Nobody is preventing a club from signing Evans...

Football clubs are (supposed to be) businesses - if the customers (fans & sponsors) of a club are telling them that they don't want to be associated with a convicted rapist, that's their prerogative and it's up to the club to decide if they are going to listen to their customers...

As for 'Stopping him returning to perhaps the only job he can do well seems like further punishment on top of his sentence', if he had been a teacher who had sexually abused a pupil would you be keen to have him return to teaching...? Would you let him teach your kids...?
 
PerryGunn said:
if he had been a teacher who had sexually abused a pupil would you be keen to have him return to teaching...? Would you let him teach your kids...?
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If he were a teacher, his name on the Sex Offenders' Register would prevent him from teaching,

Jasey said:
Footballers are supposed to be role models.
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I don't buy that one. What REAL good do they do for society?
 
I would be the first to admit I don't give a stuff about football. I could care less. But I do not agree with the first 2 posts. The fact is no sponsors are going to stick around if any club employs him. And rightly so. He has not been in prison for the full term. Why should he go back to his normal life. I don't think the woman involved will be back to normal.
 
exdos said:
Jasey said:
Footballers are supposed to be role models.
Click to expand...
I don't buy that one. What REAL good do they do for society?
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Football is good for the country and 99.99% of the people involved in it !

Millions of kids aspire to be like their "heroes".
 
It's a tough one, would I have him at my team??......I'd have Fred West playing upfront for Villa if he could score goals!! :oops:
 
lux said:
It's a tough one, would I have him at my team??......I'd have Fred West playing upfront for Villa if he could score goals!! :oops:
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You a Birmingham fan then :thumbsup:
 
exdos said:
PerryGunn said:
if he had been a teacher who had sexually abused a pupil would you be keen to have him return to teaching...? Would you let him teach your kids...?
Click to expand...
If he were a teacher, his name on the Sex Offenders' Register would prevent him from teaching,
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I know, it was an example of someone who wouldn't be allowed to return 'to perhaps the only job he can do well' even after his sentence had been served so the principal of further punishment on top of a custodial sentence is already established - I was asking if Jimbob952 would be wish to have him able to return to his old job
 
PerryGunn said:
Jimbob952 said:
If he was a Sheffield steelworker I don't suppose there would be much issue with him working in a steelmill. I thought criminals were supposed to be rehabilitated after serving their sentence. If that applies to everyone except footballers then the government should change the law to reflect this. If people wish for rapists to be punished further perhaps the government should pass a law requiring all sportmen to be banned from earning a living playing sport after conviction for certain criminal offences. Stopping him returning to perhaps the only job he can do well seems like further punishment on top of his sentence and is probably against some EU law or other.

Non of this means I condone what he did, I just think there is no precedent in law for further punishment after the sentence is served.
Click to expand...
Nobody is preventing a club from signing Evans...

Football clubs are (supposed to be) businesses - if the customers (fans & sponsors) of a club are telling them that they don't want to be associated with a convicted rapist, that's their prerogative and it's up to the club to decide if they are going to listen to their customers...

As for 'Stopping him returning to perhaps the only job he can do well seems like further punishment on top of his sentence', if he had been a teacher who had sexually abused a pupil would you be keen to have him return to teaching...? Would you let him teach your kids...?
Click to expand...

It seems Sheffield did want to employ him again, but in the end bowed to pressure.

Someone else has replied to your point about teachers and pointed out that there are already things in place to prevent that happening.

If people don't want footballers convicted of rape to play football again, because they are 'role models' then it should be either law or an FA regulation.

What about footballers convicted of lesser crimes, where would you draw the line,after all they are 'role models'.
 
I hate football and the money that these people get for kicking a ball about.
The crime committed means he will be on the sex offenders register and as a footballer he could be in close contact with children which surely means he should automatically not be allowed to go back to his original "job"
 
If a customer of mine states they don't want a member of one of my teams on site, my choices are:

- he/she would be replaced
- he/she is moved to a different customer
- we find a new customer

However, I very much doubt we would take anyone with a "current" criminal record, and would definitely not take anyone, no matter how skilled, who is out on license. Why should a footballer be any different? Why would a football club take a different approach?

And as Perry says, this guy is on license, so is serving his sentence outside of the prison. He has not served his sentence.
 
I can recall at least 1 player (Jermaine Pennant i think) playing whilst "Tagged". The fact he is out on license is a judicial decision, there seem to be no terms such as cannot resume career attached, although playing overseas seems to be a no no.
As I said at the beginning i feel his role or his earnings seem to be the crux of why people are objecting. Oldham signed Lee Hughes after he was released for killing someone by dangerous driving, whilst I'm not trying to say that rape is less of a crime than death by dangerous driving, someone lost their life. Yet the baying mob did not seem to whip up the same level of media hysteria.

He was found guilty (although he denies and continues to plead not guilty), the judicial system imposed the sentence as per the guidelines laid down. Released on license is a choice taken by the judge.

I guess my point is, his future should not be decided by a mob based on popular opinion
 
This is interesting, not sure how correct all the details are but if they are you could perhaps see why he protests his innocents.

https://www.crimeline.info/case/r-v-ched-evans-chedwyn-evans
 
Whether he is out on licence or not is irrelevant. The fact is because he has been found guilty of rape (a case which incidentally has more holes in it than a tea bag) certain sections of society think he shouldn't be rehabilitated. They are interested in selective rehabilitation only.

This woman has been playing the victim but why did she delete her tweet the day after the alleged incident about "when I win big" or something similar. Why did she claim she was so drunk she couldn't remember yet a little earlier in the evening she was captured on CCTV walking into the hotel with both men without any sign of being drunk and if she was so drunk how did she remember she'd left her purse on the back seat of the taxi, put her takeaway pizza down and go and retrieve it?

Let's see what the review of the case throws up. Presumably all of those people who have been so vocal in criticising him will issue public apologies if he is acquitted on appeal? If he is guilty then he should serve his sentence and then be rehabilitated like everyone else. He can't be treated differently because he earnt a lot of money as a professional footballer. The footballer role model thing is bullshit.

The above doesn't mean I don't think he is a cocky, arrogant arse so typical of a professional footballer, or a philanderer either.
 
One of the problems as I see it is .......if he returns to football theres a chance posters of him might end up on kids bedroom walls........he IS a convicted rapist ......who would want him idolised by their child?
 
I get the impression the case will be revisited as there were some questionable "facts" in the original trial. I would expect he will end up getting it quashed or the conviction will be changed to a lesser crime.

As for showing remorse, why would he? He maintains his innocence and the case is being fast-tracked to appeal, if he admits his guilt the all of that is out of the window, so it's a Catch-22. If the only way he can play again is to wait for the case review, I guess he will take that.

If he genuinely is innocent he has to wait his time, wait for the case review and then carry on from there. If he trusts in the law (and looking at the facts of the case the original conviction was very ropey) then he will get justice. If not, I don't see how he can ever play again.
 
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