Monday 5 October 2015 16:01, UK
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the Ched Evans rape conviction to the Court of Appeal.
Former Wales and Sheffield United striker Evans, 26, appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court in April 2012 charged with raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel in Rhyl. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted and sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
Evans, who was released from prison last year after serving half of his sentence, sought leave to appeal, but his application for leave to appeal was heard and dismissed by the full court in November 2012.
He then applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in July 2014 and the Commission received further submissions from his legal representatives in January and April 2015.
Following an in-depth, 10-month long investigation, the Commission has now decided to refer the case to the Court of Appeal.
The referral was made on the basis of "new information which was not raised at trial, and which in the view of the Commission, could have added support to Evans' defence at trial and therefore raised a real possibility that the Court of Appeal may now quash the conviction".
It will now be for the Court of Appeal to hear a fresh appeal to decide the case.
The Court of Appeal has three options - it can dismiss the appeal and uphold the conviction, quash the conviction completely or quash the conviction and order a retrial, although the latter option is unlikely as Evans has already served his sentence.
Richard Foster, chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, said: "The decision of the Commission is not a judgment on guilt of innocence in relation to Ched Evans, nor is it a judgment about the honesty or integrity of the victim or any other person involved in the case.
"Our role is to consider applications to see if, in our judgment, there is any basis on which to ask the Court to hear a fresh appeal - that is our statutory responsibility.
"In this case we have identified new material which was not considered by the jury at trial and which in our view might have assisted the defence. In those circumstances, it is right and proper for the matter to be before the Court so that they can decide whether or not the new information should affect the verdict in this case."
In its statement, the CCRC, which reviews 1,500 cases every year and on average refers only one-in-29 cases to the appeal courts, said it was very aware of the impact its decisions can have for victims of crimes and stressed the anonymity guaranteed by law for the victim in this case.
It said: "We have been particularly mindful of the targeted abuse suffered by the victim in this case and have sought to act accordingly.
"Since this application arrived in July 2014, we have been careful to keep her informed about stages of the commission's review so that, as far as it has been in our power to do so, she has learned about developments in the case from us rather than from any other source."
Evans' family and his girlfriend Natasha Massey have mounted a vocal campaign to have the conviction quashed.
A statement on the campaign's website said: "Ched and those who closely support him have always maintained that he was wrongly convicted and, using new information that was not presented at his trial, we expect that in time his conviction will be quashed.
"The decision to refer Ched's case is welcomed by all who know the true facts and Ched would like to thank all those who have supported him since his conviction in April 2012 and his subsequent release from prison in October 2014.
"In particular the support he received from football fans from many clubs kept his spirits high in the most difficult of circumstances, but in particular the support from the many Sheffield United fans who stayed in contact with him."
Evans has attempted to restart his footballing career with Oldham and his former club Sheffield United since his release from prison but his attempts have collapsed in the face of a public outcry.
