Evans back at Sheffield five years after rape case

CHED Evans has been re-signed by Sheffield United five years after he left the club over claims he raped a teenage girl.

The striker, 28, has been given a threeyear contract with the club in a deal reportedly worth around £500,000.

He last played for League One champions United in 2012, the same year he was found guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman and sentenced to five years. But that conviction was quashed and, at a retrial last year, Evans was found not guilty. He has been playing at League One Chesterfield FC since last summer.

Speaking on Sheffield United’s website yesterday about his return, Evans said: “I am delighted to be back. I still feel I have plenty to prove in football both at club and international level, and I believe I can achieve those goals at United, playing in front of the terrific fans whose support I have always appreciated.

“I am very grateful to Chesterfield, the board and management, for giving me an opportunity to return to the game. I would like to thank the Chesterfield fans, who made me feel so welcome.” Evans served two-and-a-half years of his fiveyear sentence and was released in 2014.

United’s shirt sponsor threatened to end their association with the club if they re-signed Evans, three club patrons resigned and Olympic heptathlon champion Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill wanted her name removed from a stand named after her if the striker was offered a contract.