Raith Rovers have been slammed for signing Stirling-born footballer David Goodwillie.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, author Val McDermid and Rape Crisis Scotland have all commented after the striker agreed to move to the Fife club from Clyde FC this week.
Goodwillie and fellow footballer David Robertson were accused of raping a woman following a night out in West Lothian in 2011. The Crown declined to prosecute so the mum-of-one – who waived her right to anonymity – launched a civil case against the duo.
In the first civil case of its kind in Scotland, a judge ruled the pair to be rapists and ordered them to pay £100,000 damages despite never facing a criminal trial.
The victim maintained she was incapable of giving free agreement to sex because of her alcohol consumption, but Goodwillie and Robertson claimed that intercourse had been consensual.
An appeal by the pair was dismissed in 2017.
Less than 24 hours after penning the deal, the Kirkcaldy side faced a backlash.
Rape Crisis Scotland accused the Fife outfit of sending a “message of disregard to survivors”. A statement said: “Fundamentally – though it seems Raith do not agree – women’s lives are more important than men’s talent or careers. Footballers are role models – particularly for young people – and it’s not okay to have someone in this position who has been found by a senior judge to be a rapist. We wonder whether those who took this decision thought for a second about how it may look or feel to survivors to have to watch someone judged to have committed rape be celebrated and applauded.”
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Best-selling crime author Val McDermid also ended her long-running sponsorship of the club. She tweeted yesterday: “I have this morning ended my lifelong support of Raith Rovers over their signing of the rapist David Goodwillie. I have cancelled next season’s shirt sponsorship over this disgusting and despicable move. This shatters any claim to be a community or family club.
“Goodwillie has never expressed a shred of remorse for the rape he committed. His presence at Starks Park is a stain on the club. I’ll be tearing up my season ticket too. This is a heartbreaker for me and many other fans, I know.”
The captain of Raith Rovers women’s side Tyler Rattray quit the club over the move, saying: “After 10 long years playing for Raith, it’s gutting I have given up now because they have signed someone like this and I want nothing to do with it! It was good being captain of Raith while it lasted.”
Nicola Sturgeon weighed in, saying: “The stances that Val McDermid and women’s team captain Tyler Rattray have taken are principled – though difficult for both of them. But the fact they’re in this position at all reminds us that our society still has a way to go to make zero tolerance of sexual violence a reality.”
