The news that Mr Evans second attempt to obtain employment as a professional footballer – with Oldham Athletic having previously been thwarted from returning to his former employer Sheffield Wednesday – suggests that this young man is unlikely to succeed in obtaining the employment is is obviously best suited for – in the UK.
Mr Evan’s attempts to obtain employment outside the UK have been thwarted by the Ministry of Justice who have forbidden him from obtaining employment abroad due to a requirement to be reasonably close at hand to his probation officer. This is a requirement that can and sometimes be varied in cases where an offender has pressing reasons for residing abroad.
It is the opinion of the British Gazette that Mr Evans has such pressing reasons.
A quick study of Mr Evan’s Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ched_Evans) shows that this young man has been a footballer since the age of eleven. It is very unlikely that he will have any other experience or qualifications – to fall back on – for any other form of work. In other words, Mr Evans if forbidden from obtaining the employment he has spent most of his young life preparing for is a young man with virtually no qualifications and skills to offer other non football industry employers.
Furthermore at 27 Mr Evans has less than ten years left in his chosen career for the career of a professional footballer is a short one for young men only. By the time Mr Evans has completed his sentence (he is free but on licence) in 2017 he will be on the cusp of 30 and near to the end of his playing career.
Professional footballers are generally young men who are not going to become brain surgeons or barristers and to have long term high paying careers. This means that they should – and are strongly advised by the Professional Footballers Association – to make provision out of their high earnings for their life after their footballing career has ended.
To force Mr Evans into find other employment for which he is secondly suited – he could possibly train as a HGV driver and obtain employment in that industry – would in fact be vindictive. Clearly Mr Evan’s earnings as an ordinary HGV driver would be a fraction of his earnings as a League 1 footballer.
There may be those readers who would suggest that Mr Evans should have though of that before doing what he did. Along with “serves him right.” The trouble with this is that it goes completely against the principle of rehabilitation of offenders.
What is clear however is that Mr Evans is very unlikely – as a footballer – to be able to work in the UK. It seems however he can find employment abroad as the Maltese club Hibernians have offered him a short term contract. This however has been stopped by the Ministry of Justice.
This vindictive policy in respect of Mr Evans should be reversed. The British Gazette asks Mr Grayling to change his mind.
Speaking the Truth unto the Nation
But Peter, if he did that which he was convicted for the lady involved has no end in sight….unlike a person waiting for the end of his sentence.
Good article ; we have a system whereby only half the sentence is usually served and he is being treated no differently than other prisoners; he has served his time but can be recalled to prison if he reoffends etc
This mob rule and threats to the club and its staff is not acceptable and he should be allowed to play football here or abroad.
Good points came from the audience ( and one panellist) in yesterday’s “Question Time” ie why would it would be alright for him to work in say a supermarket ; are the co-workers there less valuable so be obliged to work alongside a convicted rapist than some other jobs? Is it only “posh” or well-paid jobs that the clamour tries to stop him pursuing?