Last updated Saturday evening
Hibernians FC’s attempt to sign a former Sheffield United striker convicted of rape was scuppered yesterday evening after the British Justice Ministry declared that he may not work abroad in light of his crime.
The statement came at the end of a day that had seen the Paola club in the eye of a UK media storm after news emerged late on Friday that the club was attempting to sign Ched Evans for the rest of the season.
The controversial move provoked conflicting reactions, even at the highest level of the Maltese government, over whether a convicted rapist should be given the opportunity to resume his footballing career.
Early yesterday, Justice Minister Owen Dr Bonnici tweeted that Evans, a former Sheffield United and Wales striker, deserved a second chance, but Prime Minister Joseph Muscat later said footballers were role models and he urged the club to rethink its decision.
In his tweet Dr Bonnici wrote "Ched Evans deserves a second chance. We should not only speak about rehabilitation of ex-prisoners, we must also practice what we preach."
However, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said footballers were role models and Hibernians's decision would not only define them, but also, to an extent, Malta's image internationally.
He hoped the club's management understood this point clearly before taking a final decision.
The 26-year-old convicted rapist had an offer to train with his former club retracted in November following strong local opposition, while Tranmere, Oldham and Hartlepool also rejected the opportunity to sign him.
PN Home Affairs spokesman Jason Azzopardi, who is an avowed Hibs supporter and an honorary president of the club, supported Dr Bonnici's comments, saying Evans should not be made to pay for his mistake for life.
He made his point by recalling a recent friendly football match that politicians played against prisoners for charity.
“That game took place under the patronage of the President, we cannot one day pat ourselves on the back and make statements about prisoners’ reform and then go back on those statements when something like this comes up,” he said.
In a political dig, he later expressed surprise that the Prime Minister was expressing concern about Malta’s image, recalling the Opposition’s criticism about the sale of citizenship and Shiv Nair, a businessman blacklisted by the World Bank, who, for a time acted as a consultant to the government.
“Now the Prime Minister is worrying about Malta’s image,” Dr Azzopardi wrote.
Club vice-president Stephen Vaughan told Press Association Sport on Friday: "We are looking to secure the services of a top striker and Ched fits the bill.
"We've spoken to his agent and have offered a deal from now until the end of the season."
But a spokesman for Evans told Sky Sports News HQ yesterday that since the media frenzy began some months ago concerning Ched there had been countless false headline stories in the media, many of which Ched knows nothing about.
"This is another one of those."
Evans wants to return to football after being released from prison in October. He served two-and-a-half years of a five-year sentence after being found guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman in 2011.
He was initially given permission by League One Sheffield United to return to train with the club at the request of players' union, the Professional Footballers Association.
But following a backlash from Blades supporters, sponsors and patrons opposed to Evans' return - 160,000 people signed a petition against it - the club retracted the offer.
UK deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had said at the time that he did not think Evans should play at Sheffield United again as footballers were more then just sportsmen, they were role models to young boys.