I started to write this post on Friday night.
Being called a "rape sympathiser" (I think he meant "rapist
sympathiser") by someone who doesn't even follow me on twitter probably
riled me more than it should have done. What has followed has been three of the
most dispiriting days I have known as a United supporter.
Like a majority of Blades fans I had been
following the Ched Evans trial over the previous two weeks. It had proved to be
an utterly unedifying experience. Live tweeting from a rape trial seems as
seedy as the encounter that led to the case being brought. The live reportage brings
with it inherent risks that public judge and jury form verdicts from limited
tweets, summations that are made in 140 characters, where mistakes can be made
which lead to social media outrage.
The previous week Sky reporter Mike McCarthy
tweeted that a hotel receptionist had heard "screaming" coming from
the room. He subsequently corrected himself in a later tweet where he emphasised
that the correct word used was "squealing". I then found myself
tweeting:
“"Squealing"
and "Screaming" massively different connotations depending on which word
is used”
I then got a reply from a Rotherham supporting
friend saying:
"Tweets
you never thought you would send.”
He was right, I read it back, I didn’t like it
and I hoped I would never find myself doing it again. I didn't tweet anything
else about the case after that. I read the tweets, the news reports, the forum
threads where amateur QCs and fans who worked in the legal profession
interpreted the reporting coming out of court, but I tried not to express any
personal judgement on the protagonists. That was not my job after all and my
opinion of it counted for nothing.
My view from the start was that someone is
innocent until proven guilty and that would remain the case until the British
justice system dealt with it in due course. Everyone has a right to a fair
hearing. In suspending him United could have been seen to be forming judgement on
him. By playing him, it only becomes an issue for some when a guilty verdict is
reached. A no win situation.
On Friday afternoon, following the verdict, I
tweeted that:
“He (Evans)
has been stupid, irresponsible and thrown away a good part of his career. I
said I would go by whatever verdict and I stand by it.”
“As a club
we move on. We played him until a court of the land tried him. We now go
forward without him.”
Nothing controversial you would think but
following that tweet I was accused of being “a rape sympathiser”, having no
morals and that “I weren't bothered when he was scoring goals". Conveniently
forgetting that when the case was brought Evans was out of the side injured and
had contributed little in his previous seasons at Bramall Lane. Not that this should
be part of my thinking when forming a judgement on someone. I was accused of
taking part in the twisted chants that some Blades fans started; “He shags who
he wants...” yet I never did. As a father, as a man with a decent level of
morals - despite what my new twitter friend had thought, it wasn’t right. It
was, on the contrary, indescribably
wrong.
I’ve been given stick on twitter before; it’s par
for the course. I can take the swearing and most of the name calling, but I
took that kind of comment to heart. To clear my head, I paid a visit to
Handsworth FC, the club from the Sheffield suburb where I grew up. Needing a point for promotion from the
Northern Counties East League Division One, in just their second season, the
cold air, a pint of Stones and a great pie and a competitive game of football
cleared the fuzz in my head. Handsworth
lost to third place Glasshoughton thanks to a late goal. Little did I know but
that would be the first of two times that weekend I would see a team lose to
ten men.
Despite the result, I returned home positive. It
was a football experience so alien to the machinations of earlier in the day.
It was cold outside, but an experience that warmed the heart. There was pride,
passion, pint and a pie, but sadly no promotion and plenty of change from a
tenner.
Then, as they do, things deteriorated further
over the weekend. A tremendous Blades following of over 6,000 fans boded well
for an enjoyable Saturday afternoon at Stadium:MK. All we had to do was make
the vociferous noise to match the numbers and back the team. Sadly the
atmosphere was extremely flat, subdued and with antagonistic elements.
Unsurprisingly, in the circumstances, there was a lethargy and flatness amongst
the players as well. Whilst the team struggled on the pitch, pockets of fans
tried to start Ched Evans songs - but with little support from the vast
majority they thankfully petered out at source. Arguments and contretemps broke
out amongst the Blades support during the game. It was an uneasy and
uninspiring atmosphere, alongside an insipid display on the pitch.
Once back home a visit to twitter demonstrated a developing
moral vacuum. The delight taken in the guilty verdict from fans of other clubs,
largely elements of the Wednesday support, was sickening. In revelling in a
man's guilt for no other reason than the football club he played for, they take
twisted pleasure from a woman's suffering. On the other side of the divide,
those who support Evans tweet and post about #justiceforched, talk in denigrating
terms about the victim, off the back of a limited number of tweets emanating
from North Wales with no clear evidence to support their veracity. It is one
big, horrific mess and while football tribes battle for the moral low ground on
various social media platforms, the real victims, those who are actually
suffering; the girl, her family, the players' families are all ignored.
It continued today, when I recoiled from my computer screen
in horror as a moderator on one Blades internet forum suggested a fellow
supporter's proposal for applause for Evans on nine minutes (based on his squad
number) on Saturday. Football fans across the country mocked Liverpool's public
support for a racist, and here are our supporters suggesting we show support
for a convicted rapist, because, whatever you think of the validity of his
conviction, that is what he is until an appeal says otherwise. Thankfully the
more sensible majority shouted down the idea further down the thread.
Whether you like it or not, our legal system works on a jury
made up of twelve everyday people like you and me. Based on the evidence put
before them they found Evans guilty; unanimously. They sat in the courtroom,
they saw the nuances of verbal responses, the manner of the defendants, the reactions
to questions and witnesses. Those who read reports and form their opinions do
so without that benefit. The jury may have got it wrong, they are human, but no
one can say that with any certainty.
It is for Ched Evans’ legal team to do what they see best on
his behalf. It is of little consequence to us now and the increasing
irrationality of comment on the matter will not be helping his case. To all of
you saying that you know it is not about United or football, but you feel that
an innocent man has been found guilty, I ask you this. Would you still be this
passionate about the perceived miscarriage of justice if it had been McDonald
found guilty and Evans innocent? Would you be liking Facebook pages and
tweeting messages of support for him? If you are honest with yourself, you will
admit the answer is no.
This case isn't anything to do with Sheffield United. It is
nothing to do with football. It is about a sexual assault.
The only lessons that can be applied to football is for
young and handsomely paid footballers think twice about the positions their
ability and riches put them in and the situations they choose to engage in. The
other more general implications can be applied to every young person - male or
female - who heads out for a night of booze and a good time every Friday and
Saturday night. This case would pass through the courts largely unnoticed but
for the football connection, yet that connection is all it has taken for
football tribalism to take effect; and some of the very worst aspects of it at
that.
Those in charge at Sheffield United FC have dealt with the
matter very well. At the minute you cannot say this reflects badly on the club,
but now we have the danger of a negative media frenzy thanks to the actions of
a vocal minority. As we hit the most important stage of the season, with our
destiny in our own hands, the wheels are in danger of coming off. The playing
staff have clearly been affected and Danny Wilson and Frank Barlow have a big
task re-focusing their minds for Saturday. Whichever way you look at it, a
friend and colleague of the team is now in prison. It will affect them as a
group and as individuals. However, as fans we are not personally touched by
this, yet so many seem keen to inject themselves into it when it isn’t
necessary.
Therefore, for the next two weeks, can we please focus on
what is important. That is United securing the points required to ensure we
achieve what a majority fans would never believe was achievable at the start of
the season, automatic promotion We started the season a divided club following
the appointment of Wilson, we now end the season a potentially divided club
thanks to the off pitch actions of one of our players.
The Sky cameras will be focused even more firmly on United
and the supporters on Saturday. A spotlight intensified by the ferocity of
comments from some of our support alongside the reported tweets of current and
former players. Please don't let yourselves down. Please don't let the club
down.
The focus on Saturday should be on the players, Danny Wilson and our club; nothing else. We are Sheffield U-N-I-T-E-D, although at times over the last 3 days, we have felt anything but. Let’s stand together this Saturday evening - we owe it to ourselves.
The focus on Saturday should be on the players, Danny Wilson and our club; nothing else. We are Sheffield U-N-I-T-E-D, although at times over the last 3 days, we have felt anything but. Let’s stand together this Saturday evening - we owe it to ourselves.
