The possibility of convicted rapist Ched Evans signing for a local football team was always going to be controversial and divisive.
However, having followed the reaction to Hibernians offering Evans a contract, I have to say I am utterly repulsed by the wave of politically correct righteousness that has washed over a section of our society.
The vast majority of people are against Evans joining the Maltese club, which is fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, no matter how idiotic. But the manner in which these people have condemned the Welsh player is bordering on the pathetic.
What sickens me most is that these people have jumped on the moral bandwagon without knowing the first thing about the Evans case. They read the words ‘convicted rapist’ and allow that to make up their minds.
But the truth is not as clear-cut as his conviction states. As a Sheffield United fan I followed his trial with understandable interest. And when he was found guilty, I, like just about everyone else who was following, was utterly astonished.
Essentially it boiled down to the question of consent. The girl says she was too drunk to remember if she consented; Evans claims she clearly gave him consent.
His word against hers.
If that is the basis on which a rape conviction is made, how many ‘rapes’ are committed around the world every day? In fact, how many ‘rapes’ take place in Malta in the post-Paceville hours every weekend? I would wager that just about everyone reading this has, at one time or another, woken up next to someone with a not entirely clear recollection of what happened the night before.
A lot has been made out of Evan’s refusal to apologise to his ‘victim’. But there are two very clear reasons for this. Firstly, if he believes he had consent why would he apologise? Secondly, he is currently appealing his conviction, so apologising at this point would jeopardise his chances of clearing his name.
Like every other person with a sense of common decency I find rape to be an abhorrent and evil crime. But as a society I truly believe it is about time we realised there are different degrees of rape. At the moment there is no distinction between a case like Evans’s and one where a person has dragged a person into a dark alley at knifepoint and forced them to engage in sexual activity for fear of their life.
They are both crimes, undoubtedly, but does anyone really believe they are equally bad? Is it right that both these criminals must spend the rest of their lives labelled as a ‘rapist’. I’m not so sure.
In Evans’s case he believed the girl was in a fit enough state to consent. And, if you bother to read the facts and watch the footage on his website, you can understand his argument. What are people supposed to do, carry breathalisers around with them? Or get their sexual partners to sign pre-intercourse disclaimers? Life doesn’t work like that – people have drunken sex all the time and, before I am labelled as sexist, it’s not just women that might not be sober enough to consent.
But let’s, for a second, assume that Evans is genuinely guilty and he didn’t have the consent he claims he did. He has now served the custodial part of his sentence and that means he is as entitled to rehabilitation just like anyone else who has been convicted of a crime.
As I said earlier, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But I would suggest before they are so quick to play the holier-than-thou card they should get off their politically correct backsides and find out the facts about the subject they are preaching on.
Don’t misunderstand me. Even if Evans does manage to overturn his conviction, it doesn’t exonerate him completely. If what happened in that hotel room wasn’t rape, then it was certainly sleazy and sordid, especially considering he had a girlfriend at the time. But that sort of behaviour isn’t exclusive to footballers is it?
And don’t give me the role model nonsense either. The only people who can possibly believe that modern footballers are role models are those who know nothing about the game.
Don’t give me the role model nonsense
There are footballers playing the game today who have committed all sorts of crimes, including, in one or two case, acts which have caused deaths. Does anyone really think that a young football fan will look at these players and say it is okay to get drunk, drive and kill people because a footballer did it? If they do, I suggest it says more about their parenting skills than the influence of football.
If my son watches Evans play football and grows up to be a rapist, then I will have failed as a human being and a father. Just as I will have failed if he watches Mario Barotelli and grows up to be an irritating moron.
Let me give you an example of the hypocrisy surrounding the Evans case. TV celebrity and Sheffield United fan Charlie Webster said she would resign from her position as patron of the club if they re-signed Evans.
However, a week earlier, she had tweeted about how she bumped into Mike Tyson in a hotel lobby but was too shy to ask him for a photograph. Yet Tyson is a convicted rapist too. And a violent one at that.
Webster felt compelled to jump on the politically correct bandwagon without knowing the facts and without realising just how hypocritical she was being.
And that sort of double standards is what is really annoying me about the reaction of the Maltese public. Is it possible that all these people rushing to condemn Hibs and Evans don’t know anybody who has ever committed a crime and then regretted it? Is it possible none of them have a son or daughter who has ever had a bit too much to drink and had sex of a questionably consensual nature? Maybe even themselves?
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, himself an avid football fan, has even waded into the debate, urging Hibs to rethink their offer. But his concern is more about Malta’s international reputation than anything else, which is marginally more understandable. He too, however, may have a different opinion if he were fully briefed on the details of the case.
Ultimately, I don’t think this situation will be too much of a problem for long. Although a few months playing football here, out of the English media spotlight, would be ideal for Evans while he continues to fight his case, I very much doubt the player will take up Hibs’ offer. It might even have been withdrawn by the time you read this if Hibernians crumble under the pressure of mob rule like Sheffield United did.
Ideally Evans will overturn his conviction, prove it was a miscarriage of justice and get on with the rest of his life, forcing the pious masses to climb down from their pulpits and slink away into the sunset.
But even if he doesn’t, he has every right to resume his career, just like any other convicted criminal in any other civilised country.
Otherwise we might as well start stoning people to death.
(If you want to know why I find this conviction fundamentally unsafe, visit www.chedevans.com. You might find it revealing.)
Giant-killing time?
This weekend league football is taking a back seat to the FA Cup, as is traditional at this time of the year.
For the big clubs who are not having the best of seasons it is an opportunity to put their league woes behind them and focus their efforts on a realistic and achievable bit of silverware.
For the small clubs it is a chance to pit their wits against bigger fish and earn a few welcome pounds in the process. And maybe even a plum tie against an even bigger fish in the next round.
Undoubtedly the importance of the FA Cup has diminished somewhat in recent years – for top-flight clubs, staying in the Premiership is far more financially important than winning a trophy.
But for me the magic of the cup, while not as powerful as it once was, is still there in abundance. It’s all about dreams, surprises and giant-killing.
Undoubtedly one of the ties of this round takes place this afternoon when Manchester United travel to League One Yeovil in a real David and Goliath battle.
Admittedly, Yeovil aren’t the utter minnows they once were (it took them 108 years to finally win a place in the football league back in 2003), and they even spent last season in the heady heights of the Championship before plunging straight back down.
But they are still tiny in comparison to their opponents, who have won this tournament 11 times.
Luckily for those of us who enjoy the form book being overturned, this is just the sort of game that has potential for an upset. Yeovil have absolutely nothing to lose – they already have their big payday, so anything over and above that will be a bonus.
United, meanwhile, will be desperate not to mess up what is their only realistic opportunity of silverware. Louis van Gaal knows a good cup run would be the ideal way to ensure the supporters remain on board with his rebuilding programme. And, to be honest, without Europe to distract the team, it is probably the least they expect. That added pressure and expectation will possibly weigh on the players’ minds during today’s clash and make them more nervous than they should be playing Yeovil.
So everything is set up nicely for a game that has every chance of proving the magic of the cup is alive, well and living in Somerset.
sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade