Ched Evans: PFA head Gordon Taylor 'sorry' for Hillsborough comparison

Oldham Athletic owner Simon Corney says the club would have been right to sign convicted rapist Ched Evans.

The League One outfit looked set to sign the Welsh striker, but pulled out of the deal after threats were made to club staff and family members, in addition to potential financial implications.

On the Evans issue, Corney told the Oldham Chronicle: “I’m completely over it. It came and it went, that was it. I was over here when it was all going on and it grew to be a lot bigger than I thought. But once the answer became a no, that was that.

"I still think the right thing would have been to take him, I really do. But in the end it wasn’t to be. We underestimated the attention and fury."

Corney also admitted he was looking to sell the Lancashire club.

“I’ve had enough and it’s no secret," Corney said. "I would like to find a buyer."

Oldham athletic director Barry Owen has resigned from the club's trust.

In a statement posted on the club's website, he insisted it had nothing to do the criticism over Ched Evans, who they decided not to sign yesterday.

But he "deplored masses of abuse...which has been harmful to my family" after Oldham staff reportedly received threats over the deal.

The statement added: "I have always tried to be objective and work above that conduct. I only hope that my replacement is never in such a position."

He gave his reason for leaving after 12 years as growing commitments with the club and the Football Association.

Gordon Taylor has issued a new apology through the Professional Footballers' Association website for appearing to compare Ched Evans' attempt to clear his name with the Hillsborough disaster.

Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor has said he didn't mean to upset or embarrass anybody for appearing to compare Ched Evans' attempt to clear his name with the Hillsborough disaster.

Taylor made the comments in a radio interview after it emerged that Evans' proposed move to Oldham had collapsed amid threats to club staff and their families.

Taylor sought to clarify his comments on Friday morning, telling Sky Sports News: "The point I was making was not to embarrass or upset anybody at all among the Liverpool supporters. I'm very much an admirer of them and they know that.

"That was never my intention but it was the fact that how things at one time can be perceived one way but come out very differently with the passage of time.

"If people feel that way (offended) about what I said, I can only apologise."

• No basis for FA to intervene with Evans case - Dyke

Greg Dyke, chairman of the Football Association, has released an official statement saying there is 'no basis’ for the governing body to ‘intervene directly' with the Ched Evans Case.

Convicted rapist Evans has said "mob rule tactics" prevented him joining Oldham Athletic after the club pulled out of the move following a public outcry.

"Rape and sexual violence are abhorrent and unacceptable. This cannot be overstated," said Dyke in the FA statement.

"We have reviewed the Ched Evans case in some detail at The FA and we have examined both the legal requirements and our rules and regulations and there is no basis for us to intervene directly in this particular case.

"That said, it is important that we continue to look at the issue of behaviour and attitudes within football, and recognise the unique privileges and responsibilities that come with being a participating member of the national game.

"I would encourage the game to consider and discuss this matter and the prospect for future guidelines or codes of conduct. The FA will certainly be considering it in line with our own ongoing review of what constitutes public or private communications and behaviour."

• Read: PFA head 'sorry' for Hillsborough comparison

The head of the Professional Footballers' Association Gordon Taylor has apologised after he appeared to compare the Ched Evans controversy with the Hillsborough disaster.

He told the BBC, "the last thing I intended to do was to upset anybody connected to the Hillsborough case".

Twitter users have reacted angrily to the comments from PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor comparing Ched Evans' situation to that of Hillsborough victims' families.

The head of the Professional Footballers' Association, Gordon Taylor, has sparked fresh controversy in the Ched Evans case by comparing the footballer's situation with the families of those who died at Hillsborough.

"He would not be the first person or persons to have been found guilty and maintained their innocence and then been proved right," Mr Taylor said.

"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."

Ched Evans will now have to wait until the outcome of his appeal against his rape conviction before any club will sign him.

ITV Sports Editor Steve Scott reports: