Gordon Taylor
Taylor sparked outrage with Thursday's comments. Getty

The Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor has apologised for comments in which he compared the Ched Evans rape case to the Hillsborough tragedy.

Taylor likened Evans' attempts to prove his innocence despite his 2012 conviction for rape to the 1989 Hillsborough case, where supporters were initially blamed for the disaster that took 96 lives.

"The last thing I intended to do was to upset anybody connected to the Hillsborough case," the PFA chief told BBC Radio Merseyside.

Taylor however insisted he has no plans to step down from the position he has held for over 30 years.

Speaking to a range of outlets on Friday morning, Taylor repeatedly apologised for any offence his comments caused but appeared to stand by the comparison.

He told talkSPORT: "If any of the Hillsborough support group families are offended I'm extremely sorry and I apologise for that. But I hope they understand the point I was trying to make."

Taylor's comments on Thursday sparked widespread outrage on the day in which Oldham Athletic opted not to sign Evans following 'unbearable' pressure from sponsors and reported threats to staff.

"He wouldn't be the first person or persons to be found guilty and maintain their innocence and then been proven right," Taylor said in a radio interview with BBC.

"If we're talking about things in football we know what happened, what was alleged to have happened, at Hillsborough and it's now unravelling and we're finding it was very different to how it was portrayed at the time, indeed by the police at the time."

Taylor's comments were described as "crass, insensitive and inappropriate" by Phil Scraton, an adviser to the bereaved families of Hillsborough victims who was speaking to the BBC.

Following Thursday's developments regarding Evans' future in the game, FA chairman Greg Dyke has ruled that there is 'no basis' for English football's governing body in intervene.

However, Dyke suggested the FA may now consider changing their rules following the controversy.

"Rape and sexual violence are abhorrent and unacceptable. This cannot be overstated," Dyke said in a statement released on Friday.

"We have reviewed the Ched Evans case in some detail at The FA and we have examined both the legal requirements and our rules and regulations and there is no basis for us to intervene directly in this particular case.

"That said, it is important that we continue to look at the issue of behaviour and attitudes within football, and recognise the unique privileges and responsibilities that come with being a participating member of the national game.

"I would encourage the game to consider and discuss this matter and the prospect for future guidelines or codes of conduct. The FA will certainly be considering it in line with our own ongoing review of what constitutes public or private communications and behaviour."

Related