Denied leave to appeal.

No specific reason given why he was refused permission in the article in the Stir but I presume it was because there has been no new evidence come to light.

You need a very good reason to be granted permission to appeal and I'm not surprised he has been unsuccessful.

I'm not disappointed either. Although plenty of United fans think otherwise I can understand exactly why he was found guilty and the behaviour of a large minority of our fans regarding this has made me physically ill at times.

Doesn't necessarily mean it's over. If you’re not given permission to appeal by the 'single judge' you can ‘renew’ your application. This means you can ask the full court (usualy three judges) to give you permission to appeal. I would suspect this is his next course of action.

If I were advising him, I'd suggest his next course of action would be to forget this fantasy stuff, get his head down and do his time. He will still be a wealthy young man when he comes out of jail.

Agree too that the whole, 'if he appeals do you think he will play for us again this season' stuff (on BladesMad particularly) is genuinely nauseating. If he'd kept his bits in his trousers, we'd have been promoted. Crash and burn, baby, crash and burn...

Much as I enjoyed many goals that Ched scored last season for my beloved Blades, I have to concur with 'right minded' and decent posters on this site. Ched is a convicted rapist, one that thought he could throw money at lawyers to get himself cleared. Even if he was released on appeal I would not want him re associated with Sheffield United in any way, shape or form.

He was an over paid idiot who assumed, wrongly, that money could get him anything he wanted and allow him to get away with rape. With the announcement that he has been refuced the leave to appeal, it would suggest the conviction is pretty tight.

It's time to do your time Ched and live with the consequences of your actions!!

I'm off my soap box now and looking forward to supporting the Blades at the Ricoh tonight, that's if the doors aren't locked by Cov City's landlords.

UTB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am confident that McCabe would not have him back. we are a family club--end of.

Agree with all the comments. What infuriates me the most is that a minority (thank god) of Blades have a developed a personal hatred for the girl involved. One bloke is to blame for his (and perhaps our) situation. Not the girl and certainly not the British justice system.

BLUF65 you say - "Even if he was released on appeal I would not want him re associated with Sheffield United in any way, shape or form."

If he was released on appeal, it would be because the original guilty verdict was considered unsound and would then be overturned and he would then be declared not guilty - what is your problem?

If you've a problem with young, rich, (o.k. - thick) footballers who like to go out sh@gging - (that's probably half the current England squad covered)then you'd be left with a pretty thin squad to choose from.

Hi 1066

Thanks for your alternative view, we are all entitled to our views and debate is healthy. In my piece I also mentioned that he had been refused leave to appeal, this suggests the conviction is pretty safe. I don't have a problem with rich people, i'm not short of a bob or two myself. I do have a problem with people who believe their money makes them immune to the laws of this country, this includes; footballers,politicians, Joe Bloggs etc.

Ched had sex with the girl, the girl did not consent, therefore he was convicted of rape. He has been refused leave to appeal. Ched is now using his money to pay lawyers to find a technicality that will get him off. If he was to successfully appeal to the higher court and was released, it would be on a technicality, as he has admitted he had sex with the girl 'Without Consent' which equals 'Rape' Would you really want all of this associated with Sheffield United????

Pardon me for butting in boys - but the way I see it is that if Ched got released on appeal then he should be treated as innocent as you or I would expect to be treated if we had been convicted, proven that it was a false accusation and then released. As far as I am concerned whether you have money or not you should be entitled to be treated the same way. And from following the trial closely Ched did admit having sex with the girl in question and that is not disputed by Ched but what is in dispute is whether it was with her consent - Ched and Clayton MacDonald said it was - she said she couldn't remember whether it was or not,ie she did not say that she didn't give consent but that she was too drunk to remember. Whether Ched and Clayton should have taken advantage of a girl in that situation (when they both clearly knew she was at least drunk and at the very worst extremely drunk and almost comatose)is another question. It all depends on your own personal morals. I, for one, don't think they should have put her or themselves in that situation but who are we to judge when I am sure we have all done daft things after a drink or two with our mates.

I think we need to be very careful judging people in cases like this. What Ched did was very very stupid and if he did have sex with the young girl without her consent then I have no sympathy for him.

That said he is not an SUFC player any more and we should not waste too much time debating about him as he has long since gone and even if he gets out on appeal I am sure he will not play for Sheffield United again as it would be very difficult for club, fans and Ched himself. I am sure, however, that if we were found to be wrongly convicted we would expect our employers to take us back. What I am 100% sure of is that Ched's actions that night and the club's failure to invest in another proven striker when they knew full well there was a chance of him going to prison at a crucial point in the season, cost us dearly and may cost us this season too because of the financial repercussions of not going up last season and the rise of our lovely neighbours over at the Sty. I fear dark times at the Lane if we don't manage to get out of League One this season.

Elegantly put HB
Agree with every word and sentiments.
There sure are lots of pretentious posters on here who seem to give each other huge pats on the back for not posting on Bladesmad.

"What Ched did was very very stupid"

There you go, no need for anymore for me. Of course there are shades of grey but he should never have put himself in a similar situation. I 100% agree that he cost us promotion as well. As I said before, let's blame the guy not the girl or the justice system. Just out of interest, has he ever publicly apologised?

"the club's failure to invest in another proven striker when they knew full well there was a chance of him going to prison'

Presumably that's why they took Beattie on. It didn't work out, as we all know.

I thought Will Hoskins was the insurance policy.

Typical that he developed a double hernia almost as soon as he walked through the door...

Beattie was never going to fill that role and the club were extremely short-sighted allowing it to get to the situation whereby we had two ageing strikers (one unfit and out of form) plus Hoskins who was already injured when the trial took place and had not been prolific either. For me the error was letting the Ched situation go to the wire knowing full well that we needed to keep winning our matches. For all those standing on the moral high ground about Ched now I didn't hear many of you complaining about him playing alongside him being charged with rape. Him playing for us then is the same as him playing for sufc if the conviction was found unsafe after the appeal.

Anyway enough about the past. Let's hope this is the last time this stuff is debated and we can concentrate on this season.

Hi there, I think Huddersfield as summed this up pretty concisely. I'm no moral crusader myself, I like to think I'm enough of a pragmatist to sieze an opportunity when it's offered.
Unless someone else can get me a 35 goal a season striker to save the club I love - then if Ched gets a 'not guilty' version (however managed) - he's welcome back here a.s.a.p. as far as I'm concerned.

Well put Hudders, a very rational summary of the situation, all views have been aired, that's enough for me.

Cheers Gents UTB!!!!!