The captain of Raith Rovers women’s team has resigned and the club’s shirt sponsor has withdrawn her support in protest at the signing of David Goodwillie, who was found to have raped a woman by a civil court in 2017.
Fans and employees of Raith Rovers and sexual violence campaigners have reacted angrily after the Fife club confirmed on Monday night it was signing the striker from Clyde following weeks of speculation and growing concern from supporters.
The women’s captain, Tyler Rattray, announced on Tuesday: “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!”
Val McDermid, the best-selling crime author, who is a devoted fan of the club and their shirt sponsor, denounced the signing as “disgusting and despicable”.
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The Raith Rovers manager, John McGlynn, said Goodwillie had “a proven track record as a goalscorer” and that signing him was “crucial to the club’s promotion push in our quest to reach the SPFL Premiership – it is a great signing for Raith Rovers as a club, as David is the top goalscorer in Scotland”.
Goodwillie, along with another footballer David Robertson, was sued for damages for rape by Denise Clair, who waived her right to anonymity, in a landmark case in 2017.
The pair had not been prosecuted, but the civil court ruled they had raped Clair after meeting her on a night out in West Lothian in 2011, and she was awarded £100,000 in damages. They denied the allegation and appealed against the judgment but lost.
McDermid, a prominent feminist who grew up supporting the club, added that the thought of Goodwillie wearing a Raith Rovers shirt made her feel “physically sick”.
“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.”
Marie Penman told the Guardian that she has handed in her resignation from her “dream job” as employability officer for the club’s community foundation after learning of Goodwillie’s signing.
“I’ve supported Raith Rovers since I was a teenager, and followed them all over Scotland, but I’m disappointed and dismayed, especially with so much prominence given to violence against women right now. What message is this sending to the hundreds of girls who come through the doors of the community club? They will never get that support back.”
Other supporters expressed similar sentiments, with a number raising concerns about the message the decision sends to the women’s team – the oldest affiliated women’s team in Scotland – which also runs teams for under-16s and girls.
Sandy Brindley, the chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, called on the club to change its mind. “We are surprised and deeply disappointed that Raith Rovers FC are happy to send such a clear message of disregard to survivors of rape and sexual violence in signing David Goodwillie.
“Fundamentally – though it seems Raith FC 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 OK 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.”
Goodwillie, now 32, was fined £250 for punching a man in a Stirling nightclub in 2008, and four years later pleaded guilty to assaulting a man in Glasgow city centre.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, the club said: “As David has previously played for Raith Rovers earlier in his career, we consider him to be part of Raith Rovers football club.”
It said it “completely respects” differing views on the signing and would “continue to engage” with fans and stakeholders. “While acknowledging the gravity of what happened 10 years ago, as a club we fully support and encourage rehabilitation, and many factors influenced our signing. But first and foremost, this was a football related decision.”
