Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/442526
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 JANUARY 2015 7 sent back to jail. "Lance Armstrong, a world-known sportsman, lost seven tours de France titles and all sponsors after news broke out that he took per- formance enhancing drugs. Tiger Woods lost most sponsors and today holds a small portfolio for cheating on his wife. Ched Evans has been convicted of rape. Furthermore, he never once apologised or even ac- knowledged what he did. On the contrary, he mocked the truth and played the victim." Dimitrijevic said that everyone had a right to work, convicted rapists included. But being a footballer, his sport is widely followed by many and has a large number of football fans, ranging from the young to the old. "As a local football club (or any international football club for that matter), pushing him as a 'star' in your team would be implying that you have no qualms with rape. It would be sending the message to many, especially fans, that it is ok to be a 'star' as you would get away with murder," she said. "By way of example, a teacher that was found guilty of pedophilia would not be allowed to teach young children, if a judge, minister or any other high public figure where to be found guilty of an offence he would be removed from his position and banned from serving in public of- fice. The same should apply to Ched Evans, who is a role model to many." The controversial move by Hiber- nians also provoked reactions by the political class: Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said Evans should be given a second chance, while Prime Minister Joseph Muscat warned that the decision would "define the club and to an extent Malta." PN MP Jason Azzopardi, shadow home affairs minister and honor- ary president of the Hibs club, also argued that Evans should be given a second chance. In comments to MaltaToday, PN leader Simon Busuttil said the "case is closed", since Evans is not able to travel for work outside the United Kingdom. British media that followed the Evans trial reported that CCTV footage showed Evans's victim was so drunk the night he raped her that she was stumbling into his friend as she walked. She woke up dazed and naked, her clothes scattered on a ho- tel room floor. "The complainant was 19 years of age and was extremely intoxicated... As the jury have found, she was in no condition to have sexual inter- course," the judge told Evans during the trial. "When you arrived at the hotel, you must have realised that." The 19-year-old victim cannot be named for legal reasons but she has been repeatedly identified by inter- net hounds. The jury found that she had been raped by Evans after she bumped into Evans's friend, Clayton McDonald, also a footballer, at 4am in a kebab shop in Rhyl. According to a report by The Guardian, in the taxi to the Pre- mier Inn, which Evans had booked for his and McDonald's night out, McDonald texted him: "I've got a bird." Once inside the hotel room, McDonald was having sex with the girl when Evans arrived. The court heard that the girl was asked if Evans could "join in". He claimed that she consented, but the jury rejected that. Evans did "join in". His brother and friend were out- side the room laughing, trying to film what was happening on their phones. While Evans was having sex with the girl, McDonald left the room. Evans left later, by the fire es- cape. The Guardian reported that they then walked back to Evans' family home in Rhyl. The teenage girl woke up at 11am, on her own in the room. She said she did not know what had happened, even how she had ended up there, and went to the police that night. The two men were prosecut- ed for rape, on the ground that the victim was too drunk to have been capable of consenting to sex. The jury which heard the evidence acquitted McDonald but convicted Evans, who served half of a five-year sentence for rape before being re- leased in October. News rehabilitation and revulsion, Evans with moral conundrum Ched Evans and girlfriend