Rapist Ched Evans returns to training: is frenzy 'disgraceful'?

The news that convicted rapist Ched Evans is to train with his former club Sheffield United, less than a month after being released from prison, has reopened the debate over his future and comes just one day after a Sheffield paper published a letter in support of the player warning young women that "their conduct and behaviour might have repercussions they could regret".

The former footballer continues to maintain his innocence despite being jailed for the rape of an intoxicated 19-year-old woman at a hotel in 2011 and will rejoin the United squad later his week in what the BBC calls "a move that will be seen by many as the first step towards a possible return".

More than 157,000 people have now signed a petition calling on Sheffield United not to re-sign the player after his release, although others including the Professional Footballers Association, believe he should be allowed to resume his career as he has served his sentence.

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Despite spending two-and-a-half years behind bars, Evans still refuses to acknowledge his guilt and insists that sex with the teenager was "consensual in nature and not rape". He has not offered his victim an apology and is seeking a review of the case.

"Sources maintain that [United] manager Nigel Clough is still to decide whether he wants the striker in his squad," says the BBC. "Allowing Evans to train with them does not necessarily mean he will be offered a fresh contract."

The furore comes a day after local paper The Star published its 'star letter' from a Sheffield United fan, which claimed the "media frenzy surrounding the Ched Evans case is nothing short of disgraceful".

The letter contained advice for those who had campaigned against Evans's return, declaring: "A better use of their time and effort would be in the education of young women and the responsibility they have towards themselves when going out on the town."

As criticism mounted the paper pointed out that it had called for Evans to be thrown out of the sport following his release.

But both the club and paper have come under fire on social media:

Victim support group EVB said it was "disgusted but not surprised" but the news of Evans's return. "They are the actions of a man who continues to deny that rape is a crime aided and abetted by a sport which cares more about winning trophies than it does about victims of rape."

Others were supportive of the club and player:

Should rapist Ched Evans be allowed to play football again?

17 October

Former footballer and convicted rapist Ched Evans has been released from prison after two-and-a-half years behind bars for the rape of a 19-year-old woman in a hotel in 2011.

Now that he has been released the question of whether he should be allowed to continue his career in football has prompted widespread debate and polarised opinion, particularly because he still maintains his innocence despite losing an appeal in 2012.

His former club, Sheffield United, are said to be weighing up whether to offer him a new deal. Some fans want him back, others do not and 150,000 people have signed a petition urging the club not to sign him.

Sheffield MP Nick Clegg has had his say, urging United to "think really long and hard" before re-signing Evans, and pointing out that, like it or not, footballers are "role models".

The case, says Owen Gibson in The Guardian, "has forced football – and those who orbit it – back into a moral maze".

So, should he return to football?

He has served his time

"We should never extinguish the natural desire to give people a chance to rebuild their lives after they have been punished," writes Matthew Syed in The Times. "This is a cornerstone of any civilised society."

He draws parallels with the case of Joey Barton, another footballer who has served time in prison. He was once a pariah but has been successfully "rehabilitated" and even become a "force for good".

Evans's case is "somewhat complicated" by his refusal to accept his guilt. "But this doesn't change the basic principle. Those who have served their time, even those trying to overturn their convictions, should be given a chance to build meaningful lives."

His status as a footballer is a "red herring", adds Syed. "Why should we deny a footballer a return to employment if we would not deny a plumber?"

But it's not that simple

Yes, the player has served his time and there is no legal restriction to Sheffield United or anyone else employing him, and nor should there be. But this is not a black and white situation, says Jason Burt in the Daily Telegraph, and Evans must not play professionally again.

"There is a far more compelling argument in this case and it is to do with the privileged nature of the job that Evans does... the crime he has committed, and the lack of remorse he has shown," he argues. "Evans is a footballer. He is, whether he wishes it or not, high-profile, in the public eye; he is a hero for supporters, he is revered – and that comes with extra responsibility."

The social and cultural significance of football means the "right to return to work is then secondary".

Lack of remorse is a problem

If he wants to move on, Evans should "show some remorse and use this experience to educate other young men on the thorny but vital issue of consent", says Grace Dent in The Independent. Instead, he continues to maintain his innocence.

"Here is a chance for a young sportsman to stand up publicly and say: 'I was accused of rape, which at the time I did not think I had committed, but now I see I behaved heinously and in a predatory manner towards a woman... I was convicted as this was a crime.'"

Former sports minister and a Sheffield United fan Richard Caborn agrees. "Footballers have got a special role as far as young people are concerned. He's got to make his remorse absolutely clear. If he does that, he deserves another chance."

Don't forget his victim

As the case hits the headlines again it is important not to forget the victim, whose ordeal continues, says Owen Gibson in the Guardian.

The teenager "became the subject of an ongoing hate campaign and was forced to move away from her home town after her name was made public on Twitter," he points out. "Amid all the discussion of the fate of Evans it is that of his victim that should be uppermost in the minds of those deciding his future."

Should the law decide?

As Jason Burt in the Telegraph, points out: "Legal restrictions on employment are applied only if the job would pose a danger to the public and Evans' career does not do that."

But shadow sports minister, Clive Efford, this week told the Guardian: "There are lots of professions that you would be barred from taking part in if you had committed rape. Football should be one of them."

And while there is currently no law preventing him playing again "perhaps when it comes to footballers convicted of serious sex offences, there should be," adds Grace Dent of the Independent.

So what will happen?

In the immediate future Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough says the club's owners will make the decision on whether to offer Evans a new contract.

Owen Gibson notes that in other cases, such as that involving Lee Hughes, who joined Oldham in 2007 after serving half of his six-year sentence for causing death by dangerous driving, public reaction has been key. But "basing such a decision on how it will go down with fans is the worst test of all," he says.