Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough must be given chance to reject rapist Ched Evans
Highly respected manager would have to handle fallout if convicted rapist were re-signed so he has to be involved in decision
Few people in football possess as strong a moral compass as Nigel Clough, the manager of Sheffield United.
Few managers think as deeply about football, about a club’s role in the community, and the game’s responsibility to society. Clough has a well-developed conscience and a sharp mind, a rare combination in football, and that is why he must resist any attempt by Sheffield United to re-sign their former player, Ched Evans.
It was surprising, disconcerting even, to hear such a respected, intelligent soul as Clough insist that any decision on the convicted rapist was one for Sheffield United’s co-owners, Prince Abdullah Bin Musa’ad Bin Abdul Aziz and Kevin McCabe. It will be a decision made “above football level”, said Clough.
It needs remembering in the maelstrom or moralising, fans’ chants and online petitions surrounding Evans’s early release that his contract as an employee of the League One club expired during his incarceration. Evans is not Sheffield United’s player but he is their problem. They are associated with him.
They were his paymasters when he committed his crime. Some of their fans call loudly for Evans’s return on the warped judgment that he scores goals so let’s ignore the crime. Some have pored over photographs of the 25-year-old striker since he emerged from jail and commented that he looked fit and ready to resume playing.
Clough keeps being asked about Evans. “It’s my decision whether to put him in the team if he comes back,’’ Clough said. “It’s not my decision whether he comes back in the first place – that’s theirs.’’
No. Clough has to be involved in the decision because of the damaging ramifications for the team of taking Evans back.
On April 20, 2012, Evans was found guilty by a jury at Caernarvon Crown Court of raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel on May 30, 2011. The Wales international admitted having sex with the woman but claimed it was consensual. The prosecution argued that she was too intoxicated to have consented.
Evans was sentenced to five years in jail and was released after 2½ years at 5am last Friday.
Claiming a miscarriage of justice, Evans has shown remorse only to the girlfriend he cheated on but not the victim, who has been forced to change her name and address. The Criminal Cases Reviews Commission has now fast-tracked an investigation to establish whether it should refer the case to the Court of Appeal.
The details of the case that can be debated properly currently are that a jury found Evans guilty and that his leave to appeal was turned down at the Royal Courts of Justice on Nov 6, 2012. Other pertinent facts include that clubs accept their stars are role models, making them agree to codes of conduct, and Evans patently let Sheffield United down.
At some point a club with few principles will contact the Football League to register a player who has first to sign the Sex Offenders Register.
(Incidentally, Evans would be barred from the boardroom under the Football League Owners’ and Directors’ Test but not the dressing room).
If Sheffield United are to contemplate bringing Evans back from the cold, it cannot be an HR decision or boardroom decision. It must come from the manager’s office. It is Clough who will have to live with the huge fallout if the board offers Evans a new deal.
There are those who say that a convicted rapist deserves a second chance having done his time but Sheffield United have suffered enough damage to their image by association with Evans. It is hoped that a man of principle like Clough will take a stand.
It is Clough, not Prince Abdullah or McCabe, who will have to deal with the questions at every press conference about whether Sheffield United can still be considered a “family club”, whether the other players have welcomed Evans back, about what the players’ wives think of the recruitment of a rapist and the depth of dismay among the club’s female staff.
If a decision has to be made, Clough has to be involved. It is nonsense to suggest this is “above football level”. It affects every level, especially the football level. It is Clough who will have to defend the club. It is Clough who will have to prepare his players for the inevitable protests outside Shirecliffe and Bramall Lane. How will Sheffield United FC Community Ladies team react? What message does it send to women considering attending matches?
It will also be Clough who has to explain his reasons to the player being dropped to make way for somebody who has spent 2½ years in custody. It will be Clough who has to use part of his team talk to prepare his players for the hostility they will encounter, the constant chants of “she said no” from opposing fans. Do all Blades fans want to be represented by Evans?
One of the more troubling comments was that, given Sheffield United’s occasional problems in front of goal, it made it even more expedient to cut corners in the moral maze, turning back to Evans. Of the top eight in League One, only Notts County have scored fewer than Sheffield United. But principles are more important than points here.
Principles matter to Sheffield United. This correspondent was asked by the club to be a witness at an independent tribunal when they pursued damages against West Ham United after the goals of Carlos Tévez, incorrectly registered under Premier League rules, kept the Londoners up (in the 2006-07 season when Sheffield United went down).
I sat and talked to the club’s lawyers, and to McCabe, and then gave evidence, explaining a headline in Telegraph Sport about Tévez rescuing West Ham. Sheffield United wanted (and won) financial recompense for the cost of relegation but they also said they were fighting for a point of principle. They felt they had received no justice from the Premier League and most neutral observers agreed. Principles clearly mean something to Bramall Lane.
There are those who want to show compassion to Evans but such a famous English sporting institution as Sheffield United, who are celebrating their 125th anniversary, should also be considering the more important principle of showing compassion to the victim. Principles are at stake, as well as reputation, which is why Sheffield United must include Clough in any deliberations about Evans. Clough has always done the right thing. The right thing here is for Sheffield United to confirm Ched Evans is part of their past
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