(Reuters) – Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers said they “got it wrong” by signing David Goodwillie and will not play the former Scotland international.
Goodwillie and former Dundee United team mate David Robertson were ruled by a civil court judge to have raped a woman after a night out in 2011 and ordered to pay her 100,000 pounds ($135,590) damages.
No criminal case was ever brought against Goodwillie or Robertson after the Crown Office deemed there to be insufficient evidence. He maintains his innocence, saying they had consensual sex.
Raith, who signed Goodwillie on Monday from Clyde on a permanent deal until the end of the 2023-24 season, said they would now review the striker’s contract situation.
“We got it wrong,” the club said in a statement on Thursday. “In reaching our original decision, we focused far too much on football matters and not enough on what this decision would mean for our club and the community as a whole.
“We listened carefully to the fans who have got in touch and I’m very grateful for their honesty. As chairman, as a board and as a management team, we have all learned a hard but valuable lesson.
“This is something that we all bitterly regret and we are now wholly committed to making things right. I can therefore confirm that, following a meeting of the Raith Rovers board, the player will not be selected by Raith Rovers and we will enter into discussions with the player regarding his contractual position.”
Crime writer Val McDermid withdrew her sponsorship of the club following its decision to sign Goodwillie, Raith’s women’s team captain Tyler Rattray also quit in protest, while Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged the Scottish Professional Football League to take action.
McDermid said in a statement posted on Twitter that she welcomed the club’s decision.
“It’s a victory of sorts for the hundreds of people who MAKE the club who were appalled at the board’s original decision and who were not afraid to speak out,” she wrote.
“But it’s the first step on a long road back. The same people who made the decision are still in charge. Those who love and value the club are still on the outside; they need to be on the inside, shaping the future for the community.”
(Reporting by Peter Hall; Editing by Toby Davis)
