Sponsors To Walk If Evans Is Re-Signed

DBL Logistics and John Holland Sales Ltd have threatened to end deals with Sheffield United if the club employs former player Ched Evans.

The sponsors said they would end their shirt sponsorship if Sheffield went further than allowing Evans to train there.

Both companies released statements saying they strongly condemned rape and violence of any kind against women.

"DBL Logistics would end its back-of-shirt sponsorship with Sheffield United if the Club employed a convicted rapist," one of the sponsors said in a statement.

It was quickly followed by a statement from John Holland Sales Ltd saying it would "re-evaluate" its position if Evans was re-employed.

Meanwhile, three Sheffield United patrons quit after the revelation that Evans was back training at the Club.

Sixties' pop star Dave Berry and health expert Lindsay Graham followed TV presenter Charlie Webster in stepping down in protest.

Ms Webster told the BBC's Newsnight programme: "I think it's over 155,000 people now that have signed a petition against Ched Evans going back to the club.

"He's not just going into a job, he's bandied as a role model."

Evans was jailed for five years in April 2012 for raping a woman in a hotel room in Rhyl, North Wales. He was recently released after spending two-and-a-half years in prison.

Sheffield United said it would allow the 25-year-old, who has continued to protest his innocence , to regain his fitness.

On Tuesday, the League One club released a long statement saying it had not yet decided whether to re-hire Evans, but had accepted a request from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to let him train.

The club said it had considered the views of staff, the Football League, supporters and the general public, as well as the PFA view that footballers should be considered rehabilitated if they have served their sentence.

The club said it condemned rape and violence against women in the "strongest possible terms", but felt that Evans had acknowledged "the destructive nature of the acts which led to his conviction".

Sheffield United's manager Nigel Clough has since told Sky Sports the decision was deliberate, that all employees were consulted and that Evans is "entitled to an opportunity to resume his career".

When asked if the decision to allow Evans to train was a first step to allowing him back full-time, Clough said: "That's a long way from being true ... Everyone recognises the gravity of the situation and the seriousness of everything."

The Welsh striker admitted having sex with the victim, but said it had been consensual.