The issue of Ched Evans and whether Sheffield United should take the striker back has been bubbling under the surface in recent weeks.
The former Wales international was convicted of rape and served two and a half years in prison.
Sheffield United has allowed Evans to train with them - a decision that has led to outrage and also led to resignations of club patrons like Charlie Webster for example.
Today, the PFAI solicitor Stuart Gilhooly weighed in on the issue with a controversial article discussing the minutiae of the Evans case on the organisation's website and has been heavily criticised on Twitter since its publication.
Certain passages of the article, like the following, go over the issue of consent in relation to the woman who Evans was found guilty of raping:
"Presumably, the jury thinking is that she met McDonald and offered to go back to his hotel so this was a form of consent. If so, it makes no sense. She says she doesn’t recall meeting him and she had no more to drink after this. If anything, presumably the passage of time would have sobered her up rather than making her more intoxicated.
"Most importantly, there isn’t a shred of independent evidence to suggest that she was too drunk to consent at the moment that she had sex with either man. Indeed, there is no evidence at all as even she doesn’t know what state of intoxication she was in."
The article goes further however:
"There are people who will say rape is rape and degrees shouldn’t come into it but in sentencing these issues matter. This crime, as alleged, was at the bottom end. There was no violence and thankfully the victim has no recollection of it. This, I hasten to add, does not make it right, or anything close to it, but it is nonetheless a mitigating factor."
Understandably, this article has been heavily criticised online and these are just a small selection of the criticism on Twitter:
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But when that opinion is based on mind-boggling ignorance, it becomes less valid #PFAI
— Callum Carson (@CallumCarson34) November 17, 2014
Oh my god. What the hell have I just read? @PFAIOfficial http://t.co/riyFb7jLan
— Stephen Long (@Stephen_Long) November 17, 2014
Astonishing statement by a solicitor for Irish players' union @PFAIOfficial @PFAISolicitor about Ched Evans. http://t.co/4Y8VYiuQoN
— Tricia (@Tr16ia) November 17, 2014
You can read the full article in its entirety right here.
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