The Ministry of Justice said today it
would be 'difficult or impossible' for convicted rapist Ched Evans to
play football abroad due to the terms of his licence
He has denied his guilt and failed to apologise to the teenage girl he is convicted of raping in a hotel room since being released from prison, with his long-term partner claiming all he wants to do is return to football.
But
rapist Ched Evans' may never play professionally again,with terms of
his sex offender's licence rendering it near impossible for him to work
abroad, the Ministry of Justice said today.
It comes after the 25-year-old's former club, Sheffield United, revoked his invitation to train on their grounds this week.
No
other British clubs have expressed interest in signing the criminal
since his early release from Wymott Prison on October 17 despite the
Professional Footballers' Association saying yesterday it hoped he would
be made an offer.
Rumours
swirled Evans may have been picked up by the Irish Professional
Footballers' Association after its lawyer wrote an online article
claiming he could be innocent.
However
it was said today it would be 'difficult or impossible' for a sex
offender to meet the terms of their licence while working abroad.
'We do not comment on individual prisoners.
'In
general terms, a sex offender on licence would have to have regular
meetings with their offender manager and that is difficult or impossible
to do if they are living abroad,' a spokesman told MailOnline this
morning.
Evans,
who plans to appeal his 2012 conviction for raping a teenage waitress
in a hotel in Rhyl, North Wales, served just half of the five-year
sentence he handed.
The
remainder of the sentence will be completed on licence, meaning he must
regularly check in with an offender manager until 2016.
By the time he has completed his entire sentence, he will be 27, and will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Following
his release last month, pressure mounted on Sheffield United not to
resign the player or welcome him back to its grounds.
A
string of its patrons tendered their resignations over the issue, with
Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill vowing to have her name removed from one of
the stands at Bramall Lane should he be reinstated.
After
failing to take a public stance for days, the club revealed Evans would
be allowed to train with former teammates but did not invite him to
return permanently.
Their
invitation was revoked this week after mass public outcry. In a
statement, the club said the public reaction to their actions could not
have been 'anticipated'.
'The
Club initially accepted a request from The PFA for Ched Evans to be
able to train. The reaction to this has been at an intensity that could
not have been anticipated when first announced.
The
athlete, who used to play for Sheffield United (right), had his
invitation to train at the club's grounds revoked following mass public
outcry
The former footballer, pictured with
his long-term girlfriend Natasha Massey, has protested his innocence
despite being convicted of raping a teenage girl in 2011
'The club condemns rape and violence of any kind against women in the strongest possible terms.'
The
Professional Footballers' Association accepted the club's decision, but
added it hoped Evans would be given a job elsewhere.
'It may ultimately be of benefit to both parties to move on and for Ched to look for a fresh start at a different club.
'It
is hoped that Ched will be given an opportunity at another club to
return to the job he is trained to do,' a statement released yesterday
read.
Sheffield
United co-chairman Jim Phipps argued condemned the decision as unfair,
saying he was 'angry' Evans wasn't given a second chance.
‘I’m angry we are not able to get a chance to do for this footballer what should be done,’ said Phipps.
‘I’m
upset that we are not able to do what we wanted to do, but I
acknowledge that my view is not the only view. My principles and the
board’s principles are not the only thing that matter.
‘The influence of mob-like behaviour has made it difficult to take the simple step of allowing Ched to train.'
Earlier
this week, the Irish Professional Footballers' Association's lawyer
wrote an online article claiming the former player could be innocent.
Likening
the situation to that of the Guildford Four, who had their convictions
over the Guildford Bombing quashed following a lengthy public
campaign, Stuart Gilhooly wrote: 'This crime, as alleged, was at the
bottom end.
Before his release the former
athlete's long-term girlfriend Natasha Massey said 'all he wanted to do'
was return to his professional career
Jessica
Ennis-Hill (left) vowed to have her name removed from one of Sheffield
United's stands and Charlie Webster (right) resigned her patronage over
the issue
Sheffield United revoked Evans' invitation to train with his former teammates in light of the public outcry
Sheffield United co-chairman Jim
Phipps said he was 'angry' the club had been forced to retract its
invitation for Ched Evans to train there again and likened public outcry
to 'mob-like behaviour'
'There
was no violence and thankfully the victim has no recollection of it.
This, I hasten to add, does not make it right, or anything close to it,
but it is nonetheless a mitigating factor.'
It has since been removed from PFA Ireland's website.
Last
month Charlie Webster resigned as a patron of Sheffield United: 'It
influences the next generation and I don’t believe it is sending out the
right message to employ a convicted rapist.
‘I won’t stand here and represent that. Not in my name, not in my community and not in my club.’
In
September, the former footballer's long-term girlfriend, Natasha
Massey. said 'all he wanted to do' was to return to his professional
sporting career.
Speaking ahead of his dawn release, she told the Daily Mirror:
'He's a professional footballer and he just wants to get on the pitch
and score goals. It think he should be allowed to do that.
'All Ched wants to do is go back to work, do the job he loves and then just come home and have a family life.'
CASE THAT OUTRAGED THE NATION: TIMELINE OF CHED EVANS' CONVICTION
May 30, 2011: CCTV
shows footballer Clayton McDonald meeting victim outside a kebab shop
in Rhyl at around 4am, before taking a cab with her to a nearby Premier
Inn. On the way he texts friend Ched Evans to say he's 'got a bird'.
Mr McDonald and Evans both had intercourse with the girl, and at one point two other men tried to film it though a window.
After
waking up in the hotel room with no memory of the incident, the victim
went to police, and later the same day Evans and Mr McDonald are both
arrested.
July 26, 2011: Evans and Mr McDonald are charged with rape, which they both deny.
April 11, 2012: Evans and Mr McDonald take the stand for the first time at Caernarfon Crown Court.
April 20: Mr McDonald is acquitted of rape, while Evans is found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison.
During
the trial Evans told the court that he had gone to the hotel after
getting a text from Mr McDonald, and let himself into the room where he
found the pair having sex.
He
claimed to have watched them before having sex with the victim himself,
while two other men watched through the window and attempted to film
it.
April 23:
The victim is named for the first time online by supporters of Evans,
who begin bombarding her with abuse that police will later compare to
'virtual GBH'.
Officers
subsequently take the unusual step of giving the woman a false identity
and moving her away from her home - protection usually reserved for
high-profile murderers released from jail.
August: Evans has request to appeal his conviction turned down, though this is later overturned by the Court of Appeal in London.
November, 2013: Evans continues to deny guilt and recruits new legal team to help clear his name.
October 17, 2014:
He is released from jail after serving half of his sentence and returns
home to Rhyl where a bouncy castle is pictured being delivered to his
parents' house, but is later taken away.
October 18: Reports
surface that Evans has been offered a £500,000 contract to re-sign for
Sheffield United, though the club later deny the rumours.
November 11: After
a request from the Professional Footballers' Association, Sheffield
United agree to allow Evans to return to the club to train, but refuse
to say whether he will be signed.
The same day patron Charlie Webster, who was abused as a child, walks away from the club.
November 12: Lindsay
Graham, another club patron, cuts her ties with the club along with
another unnamed patron as 150,000 sign petition saying Evans should not
be allowed to play again.
November 13: Jessica Ennis-Hill asks for her name to be removed from one of the club's stands, leading to abuse on Twitter.
November 17: Karl
Massey, the millionaire father of Evans' girlfriend Natasha Massey,
says he will offer the former-footballer a job at one of his firms if
the club will not have him back
November 20: Sheffield United confirm that they have withdrawn the offer to allow Evans to train at their ground.
November 22:
The Ministry of Justice said while it cannot comment on individual
prisoners, in general terms the terms of a sex offender's licence would
render it near impossible to work abroad, scuppering any hopes that
Evans may be signed overseas for the remainder of his sentence.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2845107/Is-Ched-Evans-career-Rapist-footballer-s-escape-route-foreign-league-blocked-Ministry-Justice-say-difficult-impossible-sex-offender-work-abroad.html#ixzz3JoWa5qQq
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