Editorial
Parallel universe
People within football are inf luential, so they should start to consider the wider impact of their words
The football industry can often look like a closed environment, unaffected by what goes on in the wider world. So, as we have seen in the past month, people in the game can sometimes look hapless when required to comment on broader issues. On October 14, Ched Evans was found not guilty of rape in a retrial of a case that had led him to serve two and half years in jail. Over a year after his release, with several clubs having decided against signing him, he joined Chesterfield last summer. The latter’s chief executive Chris Turner welcomed the new verdict with a brief statement, saying: “We are naturally delighted with the outcome, especially for Ched, his family and friends. We can now all move forward and focus on football.” Evans admitted to having had sex with a woman who was more than twice over the legal limit for alcohol. He was accused of having shielded his face from hotel cameras and later told police he “could have had any girl” in the bar where he met the victim. The woman involved was hounded on social media after her identity was revealed by some Evans supporters and has since moved abroad.
acknowledgment of the damage done to the other person’s life – but to express “delight” was astonishingly inept. The official response from Chesterfield might have been predicted, however, by the dispiriting response of the player’s peers after the original arrest. Evans, then with Sheffield United, was voted into the Championship team of the season for 2011-12. His name was widely
There are a number of things Ched Evans’ employer might have thought appropriate to say after the new verdict but to express “delight” was astonishingly inept applauded when it was read out at the PFA awards, held in the same week as his conviction. Since the new verdict, some football figures have also tweeted their support, with the ubiquitous Joey Barton suggesting that the case was a “shambles”. Evans is still only 27 and may soon move on from Chesterfield, as some clubs higher up the league are said to be interested now the conviction has been overturned. Wherever he goes, he will be a divisive figure, reminded of what happened to him by opposition crowds and defended by some followers of his team.
Concern about abusive chants seems to
There are a number of things Evans’ employer might have thought appropriate to say after the new verdict – not least an have been the cause of another bizarre statement made recently, by FA chairman Greg Clarke to a parliamentary committee on October 17. It would be “impossible”, Clarke said, for a gay footballer to be open about his sexuality because of the verbal abuse they would face, a circumstance he conceded was shameful. Certainly there is very little precedent for a player coming out. Justin Fashanu is the only one to have done so while active in British football and that was 26 years ago (Thomas Hitzlsperger, who played for Aston Villa, West Ham and Everton, did likewise but only after he had retired in his native Germany). Clarke expanded on his comments in a later interview, saying that abuse from “a small minority” would have to be eradicated before any player could be encouraged to be open about their sexuality. That is tantamount to saying that the right time will never arrive.
offside
Above Ched Evans, back in Chesterfield colours
No doubt the tabloids would react to such a story in their customary way, by professing shock at any abuse directed at the player while reporting it extensively, for the benefit of those readers who find such things entertaining. But football should not be allowed to exist in isolation from society, which has seen positive shifts in attitude towards sexual identity over the past couple of decades. In a BBC radio poll of football fans, 82 per cent said they would welcome a gay player, with only eight per cent being opposed.
That small minority was emphatically dismissed by another football insider: “Eight per cent said they wouldn’t watch their team anymore. Well, that would be a bonus” was one of several recent tweets by Gary Lineker that have received widespread support. The others involved taking issue with the Sun’s blatantly xenophobic coverage of the refugee crisis, which in turn led to the paper directing abuse at him, including a risible demand that he be sacked by the BBC. In fact, Lineker has been careful not to refer to any such issues while doing his job on television. But the reaction to his comments show how much attention is paid to anything said by a high-profile football figure and for once it was worth listening to.
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