ONE of the main sponsors of Oldham Athletic has said it will be "out of the door" if the club signs convicted rapist Ched Evans.
The announcement will pile pressure on the club which is reportedly having second thoughts about the move.
Its board is meeting in the wake of a huge public backlash against a possible return to football for Evans, pictured, who was released from prison in October after serving half of a five-year sentence for the rape of a 19-year-old woman in a hotel.
Craig Verling, a director of Verlin Rainwater Solutions which sponsors a stand at Boundary Park, said: "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." There were no sightings of Evans at Boundary Park, after it emerged Oldham was the unnamed club referred to by Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor, who said a club would be holding a press conference to announce his signing.
Evans, who still protests his innocence, is understood to be in talks with Oldham, which last month said they would not be offering the ex-Wales striker a contract or the opportunity to train with them.
But the apparent U-turn has sparked outrage among some Latics fans and the news of Evans's possible return to football led to an online petition which has attracted more than 20,000 signatures. Rick Holden, who was a part of one of Oldham's greatest ever sides in 1990 when the club reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the League Cup, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm not comfortable with it at all, it's one of those crimes that will never go away in my opinion. "I don't see how the chap can survive actually, given the ferocity of football up and down the land, even if he did sign. I think it's untenable."