Oldham Athletic should not sign convicted rapist Ched Evans because of his "lack of remorse", the side's local police commissioner has said.
The statement from Greater Manchester's Police and Crime Commissioner, Tony Lloyd, will pile pressure on the club which is reportedly reviewing its decision to offer the 26-year-old a contract.
The side's board is meeting after the news was met with a huge public backlash against a possible return to football for Evans.
Former Labour MP, Mr Lloyd, said: "Ched Evans is a convicted rapist and, whilst I strongly believe in the principle of rehabilitation, it will send out entirely the wrong message if they offer him a contract.
"All offenders have the right to rebuild their lives and make amends after they have served their sentence but Ched Evans' lack of remorse and failure to acknowledge his offence means it is simply inappropriate for him to be on a Greater Manchester football pitch week in and week out presenting himself as some kind of role model, especially to young people."
Under increasing pressure from the public to withdraw the offer, the League One side's manager Lee Johnson said it would be a "board decision".
His comments were the first to be made in public by any club employee since news of the potential signing emerged on Sunday.
Speaking outside Boundary Park, Mr Johnson said: "I understand these are very difficult circumstances. I respect that for everyone. It's a board decision."
Asked if the board had decided against signing Evans now, Johnson added: "I don't want to comment. Whatever the board decides I will be a part of."
As well as an online petition against the move attracting more than 20,000 signatures, club sponsors have also expressed their opposition, with one saying it would be "out of the door" if the signing is completed.
Craig Verling, a director of Verlin Rainwater Solutions which sponsors a stand at Boundary Park, told Press Association Sport: "The club know our stance and that is if they sign or allow Ched Evans to train we will be out of the door.
"We had a conversation with the club when they considered allowing Ched Evans to train with them six to eight weeks ago, and we were led to believe they had listened to the general input.
"But our sources have made it clear he will be training or signing for the club this week and it is not something we wish to be associated with."
Oldham Athletic also has an affiliation with its local Mecca Bingo Hall.
A spokesperson for the company said: "If the club were to sign Ched Evans, then Mecca Bingo would review the partnership."
However, another Oldham sponsor, Web Applications UK, said it will continue to support the club irrespective of its decision over Evans.
The company's chief executive Craig Dean said he believed it would be "unethical" to seek to influence the situation in either direction.
The controversy over the offer comes as another blow to Evans who had an offer to train with his former club Sheffield United withdrawn following a backlash from Blades supporters.
Other clubs including Tranmere and Hartlepool also rejected the opportunity to sign him, and a recently touted move abroad to Maltese club Hibernians was halted due to rules on convicted sex offenders and their probation regime.
Evans, who previously played for Manchester City, was jailed in April 2012 for raping a 19-year-old woman in Rhyl, north Wales. He was released from prison in October after serving half of the five-year sentence.
The striker denied the offence, saying the sex was consensual, but he was found guilty by a jury at Caernarfon Crown Court.
Northumbria police and crime commissioner Vera Baird has called on Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley to drop Sports Direct's sponsorship of Oldham Athletic if they sign Evans.
The former Labour minister said the retail giant's backing was worth £1 million to the club.
She wrote to Mr Ashley: "He (Evans) should not be taken on as a footballer with the high profile heroism that young people attach to such figures.
"It is tantamount to saying that sexual abuse is OK as long as you can play football.
"If Oldham Athletic decide to appoint him, I would urge you to withdraw Sports Direct sponsorship at the club."
She said Oldham was her home town, and she regularly watched the team when she was younger.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article