Paul Heaton, former singer of the Housemartins & The Beautiful South is not one to shy away from a controversial subject, so when it concerned his beloved Sheffield United it was not going to be any different.

Heaton who has recently returned to the charts after a lengthy absence has like several other high profile Sheffield United fans made a statement that makes his position completely clear, it was probably not a happy hour when he decided that he could no longer be a patron of Sheffield United and is the fourth patron to do so over the Club's decision to allow Ched Evans recently released from prison to train with the Club.

This case seems to be black & white amongst football fans and indeed across the country as a whole, you are either of the ilk that as a convicted rapist Evans should never be allowed to work again in football or otherwise for his crime, or it seems you feel that he is a victim of circumstance and should never have been convicted in the first place.

Two extremist views, but until Heaton's statement, no one has seemed to tackle the reality of the situation. yes Evans is a convicted rapist and his crime is heinious, but there is a point where he has to be encouraged to rehabilitate and never offend again rather than being cast out from society.

Paul Heaton has made his position very clear.

"It is with great regret that I announce my resignation as patron of Sheffield United Community Foundation.

I would firstly like to salute the bravery of my fellow Blades and patrons in resigning their positions and in particular Charlie Webster, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Lindsay Graham, in standing up for victims of rape everywhere.

I firmly believe that Ched Evans has the right to rebuild his career in football but rebuilding a career should not involve walking straight out of prison and into the shirt of the club he so badly let down.

I believe he needs to move away and move on, and the club itself needs to lift its reputation out of the gutter.

As a way of showing a lead to others involved in this torrid affair, I will be donating my fee from this month's Sheffield City Hall gig to Sheffield Rape Crisis Centre.

Finally, I would like to thank the Foundation for its continued hard work in the Sheffield community and wish them the very best for the future."

A reasoned view from the singer who is also going to donate the proceeds of a forthcoming gig in Sheffield to Sheffield rape Crisis Centre.

But his statement tackles deeper issues and that is of offender rehabilitation, our society is based on the theory anyway that it is better to try and rehabilitate than just punishment alone, Evan's crime is indeed heinious and from a society point of view far more serious than robbery, however there is a point where any convicted criminal has to be let back into society and try to rebuild their lives and before anyone screams at me im well aware that the victim has also had to rebuild hers.

Yes Evans is a man in the public eye, but in the eyes of the law people are meant to be equal, if that is the case then we would not stop a bricklayer convicted of rape picking up his trowel after his release so why should it be different for a footballer.

I am playing devils advocate here, but the law cannot be applied to suit public opinion, it has to be applied equally and although I am in no doubt that Ched Evans is a thouroughly nasty character who has let relative fame and fortune go to his head leading him to the opinion that he is above the law as sadly so many footballers seem to do these days, he is still entitled to step back into society. Perhaps the way he is trying to step back into it is telling us something about his character, a more humble man would try to move on quietly and with a more sensitive approach.

But Paul Heaton hits the spot here, he should not be doing it back in Sheffield where he has let not just the Club down but the entire community, he should move elsewhere and rebuild his own life quietly.

Mr Evans of course has maintained his innocence throughout the sorry saga, I am of course basing my opinion on the fact that a jury has heard all the facts and found him guilty, I don't know enough of the details to debate whether he is a victim of a miscarriage of justice or otherwise, so i can't comment on the case only on what is happening now.

However it is good to hear an opinion that tackles the deeper issue rather than just call for draconian measures, perhaps Ched Evans should never play again, perhaps football itself should shun him, but certainly this is not the worst case of a footballer committing a crime, going to jail and then resuming his playing career, taking a life has far more serious repercsiions than rape (im not belittling rape here merely stating a fact, a fact that in the case of Lee Hughes meritted twice the sentence handed out to Evans)

Lee Hughes a far more public figure than Evans and he caused death by dangerous driving whilst at West Brom, he served half of a six year sentence and then resumed his football career and continues to play in the Football Conference for Forest Green Rovers at age 38.

Jordan Robertson ironically a Sheffield United player was on loan with Saints when he caused death by dangerous driving on Christmas day 2008 being sentenced to 32 months.

More recently Manchester City player Courtney Meppen Walter was convicted of the same offence as Hughes and Robertson and has quietly rebuilt his career at Carlisle since being released from prison late last year.

To finish I am not trying to justify anything here, Im certainly not attempting to stand up for Ched Evans, Im merely pointing out a few facts and figures, justice in the UK is based on reasoned debate over the evidence and thankfully is not based on witch hunts anymore

Photo: Action Images

Zambucco added 12:18 - Nov 18 Sorry Nick, I don't believe this should be an article on this forum. It is not about football.
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SaintNick added 12:54 - Nov 18 fair comment, but I disagree in that ok it isnt about saints, but it is about the dilemmas that face football as more and more overpaid prima donas get themselves into trouble with the law
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ThereIn76 added 13:00 - Nov 18 Actually, whilst it's a very uncomfortable issue, it's very much about football. The next move has to be up to Evans himself. He maintains that he is innocent of any crime and has shown no contrition whatsoever. That's fine if he's going to appeal against his conviction but he's sure taking his time doing so. He also hasn't condemned the actions of the trolls who have tracked down his victim. In short, he seems to think that Sheffield United and the world in general owe him a living and should be grateful that he's now available to play again. His attitude and conduct are doing him no favours at all. The primary aim of a criminal justice system is - and needs to be - correction. He has served as much of his sentence as the criminal justice system considers appropriate and it is not for others to decide that he should still be behind bars. As a professional footballer he is in the public eye and, whether he likes it or not, footballers are seen as role models. Even if he finds a club that is crazy enough to sign him (and he'll probably need to look overseas) he cannot expect sympathetic treatment from players and supporters of clubs he comes up against. Evans has two choices. If he chooses to fight to clear his name, it may take more years than he would normally expect to play professional football. But if I'd been convicted of a crime I know I hadn't committed, I'd put that above everything else and if it means I lose my football career, so be it. I'd still have the rest of my life to live. Alternatively, he can accept the verdict of the jury that convicted him, apologise to his victim and condemn the trolls, in which case he may attract a degree of sympathy for his clear desire to resume playing football. His problem at the moment is that he wants the best of both worlds - that everybody should just take his word for it that he's innocent and was wrongly convicted and he should pick up his career when he left off. Ironically that attitude is bringing him the worst of all worlds.

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SaintNick added 13:31 - Nov 18 excellent points therein76
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VeloSaint added 16:07 - Nov 18 Of course its about football..if it were a Saints player we'd all be discussing it. If Saints were ever in this situation I'd expect them to point blank refuse to even consider taking the player back no matter what injustice the player felt. Its what Utd should have done, instead its a story that drags on and on with no winners.
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SanMarco added 17:17 - Nov 18 I think this is about the nature of football as a 'national sport' with the players as (supposed) role models. If this man was a bricklayer he could continue laying bricks but if he was a teacher we wouldn't want him teaching our kids. Rehabilitation does not mean that you can simply carry on as if nothing had happened. It also implies admission of guilt. This bloke was found guilty in a court of law. If at a future date this were to be overturned in the courts then things would be different. As things stand I believe that football, along with work with children and work in the police (+ a few others I am sure) are areas that should not be open to him. The workplace is full of situations where even the smallest infringement can bar you from particular jobs. Evans made his choice and I for one do not feel sorry for him.

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davepid added 21:36 - Nov 18 I am a senior manager in the criminal justice system here in Sheffeild. Thank you Nic for raising this complicated subject. Let's be clear he is currently a convicted man , if he gets through the criminal case review process he might be found not guilty but until now he is guilty. There is a demonstrable link between domestic violence ( violence against women in the main) . We know that because we hear sexist chants and banter on the terraces - not as often as in the past but sometimes. I am told that Sheffield United have sung , he is Ched Evans , he does what we wants. That demonstrates he is a role model influencing the views and behaviour of many young men. The need to protect future victims of domestic violence has to be our paramount concern here.

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SaintNick added 23:03 - Nov 18 Good points made here and I feel that all of them are valid, but we are never going to get an answer we all agree on. Davepid is right about yes a bricklayer could return to but perhaps a teacher couldn't, and yes he is an influence on young people, but because they sing his name doesn't mean he is that much, when I was a kid they used to sing Harry Roberts is our friend he kills coppers, but I don't think anyone who sang that went on to kill coppers. Yes there I a need to protect future victims but as it could be said that Evans is hardly likely to re offend in a football ground, unlike say a paedophile who is a teacher, then he isn't going to be a risk to the public if he plays football again

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Mushty added 07:17 - Nov 19 As Paul Heaton is well known to have stood shoulder to shoulder with SU's hooligans, maybe he shouldn't be so hypocritical of his club's actions. Having said that, I think Evans should have lost his job once convicted as any average Joe would have in the circumstances, then up to others what happens next.
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