Oldham Athletic u-turns on signing Ched Evans as Nandos drops club sponsorship
Oldham Athletic has made a u-turn on its decision to sign convicted rapist Ched Evans after the firm saw major sponsors including Nandos terminate their partnership with the club.
The League One side’s board admitted to BBC Sports editor Dan Roan that the deal was off on this morning because there was “enormous pressure from sponsors and threats to staff and their families”.
Oldham board member tells us deal to sign Ched Evans is OFF due to "enormous pressure from sponsors and threats to staff and their families"
— Dan Roan (@danroan) January 8, 2015
Nandos was the latest sponsor to pull its involvement with the club on Wednesday.
RE Oldham signing: we'd have liked to continue our involvement with fan prizes at matches but feel we can no longer continue our association
— Nando's (@NandosUK) January 7, 2015
Verlin Rainwater Solutions also ended its partnership with the club with both Mecca Bingo Bolton and ZenOffice promising to do so if the signing went through.
The move came after club chairman Simon Corney, claimed on Wednesday that the move was "80 per cent likely" to go through.
Evans will release a statement this evening regarding the club’s decision to terminate this contract.