Ched Evans is suing his own lawyers over lost earnings after his overturned rape conviction

Posted Wednesday, November 07, 2018 by Thesun.co.uk

CHED Evans is suing the law firm that represented him for lost earnings after his rape conviction was overturned.

The Welsh professional footballer was convicted of raping a 19-year-old woman but a 2016 retrial found him not guilty.

He is now seeking damages from Brabners - the lawyers that represented him in his initial trial in 2012 - Sky News reports.

Evans, 29, spent two-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted for the rape, which was said to have taken place in a hotel room in Wales in 2012.

He could now receive a payout worth millions of pounds if he can successfully argue that he was given bad legal advice by Brabners.

A spokesperson for the firm told Sky: "Brabners put forward a strong defence of the criminal case against Ched Evans following a thorough process and we are vigorously defending our handling of the case.

"We believe the claim for damages is entirely without merit."

It is understood that his civil case against Brabners will be heard at the High Court in April next year.

Evans had previously played for Man City but was at Sheffield United on a salary of around £18,000 at the time of his arrest.

He is currently on loan at League One side Fleetwood Town.

Earlier this year, Evans spoke out about the abuse he has received in an interview with talkSPORT.

He said: "Not at all stadiums do I get abuse - but I'd probably say 70 per cent of stadiums there will be fans shouting stuff.

"The favourite is 'you rapist'.

"It's quite unbelievable to be honest... There's nowhere else publicly you would go and shout such vile, horrible comments at somebody and potentially think it was funny or even acceptable."