Ched Evans, Convicted Rapist and Soccer Player, Loses Contract Following Threats Against Team

The Ched Evans saga has sharply divided opinion in Britain, where it continues to be a topic of national debate. It's not often the Prime Minister weighs in on a League One team's transfer policy, but that's just what happened earlier this week as Evans, a convicted rapist and former professional soccer player, appeared to be on the brink of signing for League One outfit Oldham Athletic. Just yesterday, Oldham owner Simon Corney said he was "80 percent" certain Evans would play for the club. Oldham was expected to confirm his signing as early as today. Instead, the club did the opposite: facing a growing number of frightened sponsors and an angry public, Oldham announced it would not sign Evans.

Evans spent more than two years in prison after his rape conviction. As we reported here at VICE Sports beginning this fall, his search for a new club has led to a national debate among the people of Great Britain and among soccer fans worldwide. Evans has a small set of supporters and a legion of critics. On one side, Evan's supporters argue he's served his time and should be allowed to live and work as a free man, and if that work is in professional sports, so be it. The other side argues professional footballers occupy a privileged place in contemporary society, and that Evans' return to soccer would send the wrong message to young people about how society treats women and the seriousness of sexual assault.

This is the second time since his release that Evans has almost reentered professional soccer. When we last wrote about Evans, his former club, Sheffield United, was considering re-signing the player. United had come under great pressure from sponsors, celebrity ambassadors, sportsmen and women from Sheffield, and the general public not to do so. The club evidently decided Evans carried too much baggage, and passed.

What was interesting about his potential deal with Oldham wasn't just that it almost happened, but how it came about. Evans' future father-in-law appears to have not only brokered the deal but to have agreed to partially bankroll the club.

The public responded to Oldham's consideration of Evans much like it did Sheffield United's. In fact, it was worse. Sponsors were already abandoning Oldham. On Wednesday, three sponsors, ZenOffice, Verlin Rainwater, and the multinational chicken restaurant Nando's, backed away from the club. Others were expected to do the same.

This is obviously not what Oldham, a team apparently in a poor financial situation, needed. But according to the Independent, Evans' supporters had anticipated as much: Karl Massey, Evans' soon-to-be father-in-law and owner of a successful chain of jewelry stores, was set to cover not only any sponsorship loss but also Evans' salary at Oldham until the end of the season. Massey is apparently good friends with Oldham president Simon Corney.

Evans' signing would have represented the mother of all short-term bets by Corney. The club would have basically gotten a player for free, but one with a huge question mark over his head. Evans, remember, hasn't played in years. If Evans scored enough goals, maybe the outraged fans would have come back.

That was the bet, anyway, that winning is more valuable than the club's reputation. In the end, it wasn't a bet Corney was willing to take.