Ched Evans deal off after row engulfs Oldham Athletic

The former Manchester United star, Steve Bruce, has questioned the conviction of Ched Evans and says he advised Oldham's Chairman - Simon Corney - to give the player a second chance. Evans was convicted of rape in 2012. He was released from prison in October on license but still has more than two years to run on his sentence. The Criminal Cases Review Commission is to look at his case to see if there's grounds for appeal. But Bruce says he advised the Latics' Chairman to get Evans on their books:

Oldham Football Club director Barry Owen has resigned his post as chairman of the club's trust. In a statement he said it had nothing to do with the recent controversy over talks to sign convicted rapist Ched Evans.

"I leave knowing that I have tried my best for all fans and whilst I deplore the masses of abuse from a minority, some of which has been libellous and harmful to my family, I have always tried to be objective and work above that conduct. I only hope that my replacement is never in such a position".

The PFA Chairman Gordon Taylor has apologised to the families of Hillsborough victims over any offence he caused by comparing their fight for justice to that of the convicted rapist Ched Evans.

The mother of the one of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster says the families want to move on after being linked to the case of Ched Evans.

It comes after the PFA chairman Gordon Taylor appeared to compare Evans' assertion of his innocence to the fight for justice for the 96.

Brenda Fox says the families want to move on from the comments and that Mr Taylor made a mistake.

The head of the footballers' union has apologised after he compared Ched Evans's situation with the Hillsborough disaster.

Gordon Taylor told BBC Radio Merseyside: "The last thing I intended to do was to upset anybody connected to the Hillsborough case."

The chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) prompted a storm of controversy after it emerged that convicted rapist Evans's proposed move to Oldham Athletic had collapsed amid threats to club staff and their families.

In his earlier comments, Mr Taylor told BBC Radio 5 Live: "He would not be the first person or persons to have been found guilty and maintained their innocence and then been proved right.

"If we are talking about things in football, we know what happened, what was alleged to have happened at Hillsborough. And it's now unravelling and we are finding it was very different to how it was portrayed at the time - indeed by the police at the time."

The head of the Professional Footballers' Association, Gordon Taylor, has apologised over his comments comparing the Ched Evans case with the families of those who died at Hillsborough.

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Oldham Athletic has pulled out of a deal to sign convicted rapist Ched Evans.

It follows death threats the club says were made to fans, sponsors and staff.

Matt O'Donoghue reports: