Friday 13 March 2015 12:55, UK
Oldham Athletic chairman Simon Corney has defended his club's attempts to sign convicted rapist Ched Evans back in January.
The Latics had been in talks with the striker who had been looking to find a way back into football following his prison sentence.
The former Sheffield United player served half of a five-year prison term before being released last autumn.
Oldham had been keen to offer Evans a return to the sport but, following a backlash by sponsors and death threats made against officials at Boundary Park, the League One side decided to pull the plug on any deal.
Corney also said that he received support from many big names within the world of football and hopes that 26-year-old Evans will get a chance to play football again professionally.
Regarding Oldham’s plans to sign the Wales-born forward, Corney said: “As a board we believed it was the right decision.
Many managers phoned me up and told me I was doing the right thing and to stick to my guns.
“Ched has served his time. Unfortunately, not every person who phoned me up to support me was able to come out publically and back me.
“There were one or two, Harry Redknapp, Steve Bruce, they were fantastic. And there were many other managers, including Premier League managers, who phoned me up and told me I was doing the right thing and to stick to my guns.
“But they could not come out publically to support me because they said it may not be the views of their clubs.
“It is a very emotive subject. It divided the whole country. And it became the hot topic for a week or two. I understood both sides and I still do.
“But we as a board believed it was the right thing to do and we pursued it. In the end it probably became too big. There was a lot of tension in the air.”
And what are his opinions of Evans: “I can’t lie. He was a lovely lad. He certainly felt a lot of contrition. He was very concerned for the girl in question.
“And although he probably couldn’t say it publically, he felt awful about the whole situation and wanted to say more but for obvious reasons he can’t at this stage. I hope he gets a chance.”
