Jessica Ennis-Hill receives rape threats over Ched Evans

South Yorkshire police on Friday said they were investigating rape threats sent to the Olympic gold medallist on Twitter.

Ms Ennis-Hill issued a statement on Thursday saying she would want her name removed from a stand at the football club’s Bramall Lane ground if the League One club welcomed the Welsh international back following his conviction for raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room.

Sheffield United have been widely criticised for their decision to allow the sex offender, who continues to protest his innocence, to train with his former team following his release from prison after serving half of a five-year term.

‘Contradict beliefs’

The 25-year-old’s former club revealed this week they would allow the ex-Wales international to train with them after serving half of a five-year prison sentence following a conviction for rape. Mr Evans could yet be handed a new contract amid widespread criticism.

In a statement, Ms Ennis-Hill said: “I believe being a role model to young people is a huge honour.

“Those in positions of influence in communities should respect the role they play in young people’s lives and set a good example. If Evans was to be re-signed by the club it would completely contradict these beliefs.”

TV presenter Charlie Webster, Sixties pop star Dave Berry and Sheffield businesswoman Lindsay Graham have all resigned as patrons of the club since Evans returned to training.

And the Football Association chairman Greg Dyke’s attempts not to get drawn into the row in an interview with the BBC have only added fuel to the fire.

He said: “Are people who go to prison entitled to come out of prison and to try and rebuild their lives or aren’t they? Or is what they’ve done so bad and because they’re in an industry where their image is important – and that’s the dilemma and it’s not clear cut.”

Evans spent two and a half years in prison after being convicted in April 2012 of raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room in Rhyl.

The striker denied raping the woman, saying the sex was consensual, but he was found guilty by a jury at Caernarfon Crown Court.

An appeal against Evans’s conviction was rejected by three judges at the Court of Appeal in 2012. His case is due to be looked at by the Criminal Case Review Commission.