Sick Football Culture
Ched Evans (centre), who was found not guilty of rape, listens with his girlfriend as his solicitor reads out a statement after his acquittal CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES
Oliver Brown, chief sportswriter at The Telegraph, had some harsh words for Ched Evans and his supporters following the Court of Appeal's controversial decision to overturn the footballer's conviction for rape.
"The established facts of what happened at the Premier Inn near Rhyl on the night of May 30, 2011, are sordid enough: Evans lied, as he admitted in court, to obtain the key that gained access to the bedroom, did not speak to the young woman before, during or after sex, then left the hotel by a fire exit.
"As for the impression of contrition, forget it. His statement on Friday that he “wholeheartedly apologised to anyone who might have been affected by the events of the night in question” does not square with the fact that he has stood by while a website has published horrendous character assassinations of the woman concerned. Her life, to a greater extent even than his, has been ruined. If a man such as Evans is now to be made a martyr, then the culture of football in Britain truly is sicker than we thought."
Read the rest of what is a challenging and thoughtful article via the following link to The Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/10/14/team-ched-show-just-how-sick-football-culture-in-britain-is/
'Team Ched' show just how sick football culture in Britain is
BY OLIVER BROWN - The Telegraph
“Naturally delighted.” These were the indelicate words of Chris Turner, Chesterfield’s chief executive, upon hearing that Ched Evans was no longer a convicted rapist.
Quite where the notion of delight fitted into this sleazy, tawdry, deeply unedifying tale was anybody’s guess, but Turner decided there was not a moment to lose in circling the wagons. “We can now all move on and focus on football.”
They never learn, do they, this tone-deaf band of blazers? Cast your minds back to 2012, when Evans received the conviction that was quashed earlier this year. How do you suppose the Professional Footballers’ Association responded to the news? With horror, or at least a few deftly-chosen words of censure? No, it decided to include him in its League One ‘team of the season’. When Evans cropped up among the names read out at Grosvenor House that evening, the clapping continued unabated.
