Thousands call for rapist to be lose place on football honour list

The 23-year-old Sheffield United striker, who is serving a five-year jail sentence for the sex attack, was included in the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) League One team of the year.

School teacher Leo Hardt started a campaign following Evans’ conviction, claiming his inclusion on the list sends out a “very troubling message”.

The petition, on the campaign website change.org, has received more than 5,000 signatures.

Mr Hardt said: “I started this campaign because my students see professional footballers as role models and take these awards, like this one from the PFA, as endorsements of their heroes.

“It’s staggering that the PFA would chose to endorse a convicted rapist when there are many footballers who are better role models for our young people.

“I urge the PFA to remove him from the list immediately.”

Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the PFA, last week defended the decision to include the Welsh international in the list. Evans was included in the team as members had already cast their votes.

Mr Taylor said: “That was a football judgment by his fellow professionals, it was not a moral judgment and in no way does the PFA condone the offence for which he was convicted.

“If he had been removed from the team it would have created more of a storm and would have been manipulating the vote.

“Votes are cast on footballing ability, obviously everyone is quite disturbed about the conviction and whether that would have changed the vote we just don’t know.”