HARTLEPOOL United Football Club is at the centre of a new row over convicted rapist Ched Evans after its manager announced he would like to sign the player.

Ronnie Moore, who took over as boss of the league's bottom club this week, confirmed he could look to bring in 25-year-old Evans.

Former Sheffield United and Wales striker Evans had an offer to train with his former club retracted last month following strong local opposition to the proposal.

Hartlepool's Labour MP Iain Wright said Evans was a "pariah" and signing him would send the wrong message to young fans.

 

After yesterday's 1-1 home draw with Oxford, Mr Moore said: "It's a possibility.

"If it could happen, I would want it to happen. He is a proven scorer; he's served his time and the boy wants to play football.

"If there is a chance he might come here, I don't see any reason why he shouldn't.

"He has made a mistake and maybe he hasn't apologised in the right way - and I know he has an appeal case pending - but if he gets on the park, he would go a long way to getting us out of trouble."

Bur Mr Wright was outraged at the prospect of Evans joining the club.

He said: "I really hope we don't. I love my club, I love Hartlepool United. There's a reason why no other team in the Football League wants to sign him - he is a pariah."

Mr Wright added: "I was at the match today. There were lots of young lads there supporting Hartlepool United. I just think it sends out such a wrong message to young men in terms of it being OK for a rapist to play football.

"It's entirely wrong."

There were mixed views on the potential signing from fans on the club's Poolie Bunker forum.

While some supporters of the struggling side took the view that a proven international goal scorer could fire them to safety, others feared the reaction to such a controversial move.

PoolieinNottingham wrote: "I really hope this is just a rumour.

"Thanks to Jeff Stelling (the Sky Sports presenter and Hartlepool fan) loads of people have a soft spot for Pools, whereas if this is true we'll get no end of bad will.

"If we've got money to spend on wages now there will be other players who can do the job instead of him."

But in the next message Monkeybutt replied: "I would take him in a heartbeat, what's done is done, served his sentence, move on people!"

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said it was "desirable" for ex-offenders to return to employment but there were some jobs that people could not go back to.

As a result of his ministerial responsibilities, he insisted he would not comment directly on Evans' case.

But he told Sky News' Murnaghan programme: "Given the fact that I am responsible for the probation system he is part of, I'm not going to comment on the individual case.

"What I would say is that where an offender leaves prison, clearly it is desirable that we get them back into employment, that we get them back into normal life so they don't reoffend.

"There are some categories of profession where actually it is not possible to return to your previous job - working with children for example.

"So, therefore, this debate will always happen when somebody has a high-profile and controversial job."

He added: "It is always a balance between making sure we rehabilitate offenders properly, we get them back into the community doing a constructive job not reoffending, but also accepting there are some roles in life that people who have offended can't return to".

Evans was released in October after serving half of a five-year jail sentence following his conviction for raping a 19-year-old woman in Rhyl, north Wales.

The player has always maintained his innocence despite being found guilty.

Shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan said clubs should think "very seriously" about their responsibilities before signing a rapist who had not admitted his guilt.

He told Murnaghan: "There are some professions where you are a role model to others, lots of young boys and girls have posters of successful footballers on their bedroom walls.

"You have got to remember that in this case Mr Evans still claims he was not guilty of the offence, he is appealing ... it's right and proper for football clubs to very seriously consider the responsibility they have to society in relation to taking on a convicted rapist who still denies his guilt in that job."

He added: "If somebody had been found guilty of an offence and said that they learnt their lesson, they were taking action to address their offending behaviour and they were going to take steps to try to play a positive role to the victims of rape and other things, you could understand that line of argument.

"I'm afraid in this particular case, here is a man who was found guilty after a trial, he still claims he was innocent and wants to go back to being a high-profile footballer.

"I think football clubs need to think very seriously about the responsibilities they have to wider society."