Signing of 'rapist' causes outrage in Scotland

Scottish Championship club Raith Rovers caused outrage on deadline day amongst their fanbase and beyond after they signed striker David Goodwillie, who was ruled to be a rapist in a 2017 civil court case relating to an incident in 2011.

Scottish author Val McDermid, who is a lifelong Raith Rovers fan and sponsors the club's shirts, has withdrawn her support and her financial backing. The club have also lost other fans, sponsors, directors and players over this move.

"I have this morning ended my lifelong support of Raith Rovers over their signing of the rapist David Goodwillie," said McDermid in a statement on social media on Tuesday.

"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."

Goodwillie, who also has three criminal convictions for assault, in addition to the civil court rape ruling, began his career at Dundee United and has since played for clubs including Blackburn Rovers, Crystal Palace, Blackpool, Aberdeen, Plymouth Argyle and, most recently, Clyde. He has three caps for the Scottish national team.

McDermid has on Wednesday also revealed that she is helping the Raith women's team to sever ties with the club.

"They had a meeting last night and the upshot of that is, essentially, they want to completely distance themselves from Raith Rovers Football Club," McDermid said on BBC Radio Four.

"They are currently, as we speak, having new shirts printed that don't have the Raith Rovers crest on them.

"They are committed to playing their fixture on Sunday not at Stark's Park, Raith Rovers' ground, but at another ground in the town, at the Windmill pitches."

Widespread condemnation

Raith's signing of Goodwillie has drawn criticism not only from their own support and club, but from the wider football world and even politicians including Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a known fan of the team.

The club defended their position on Tuesday, saying that they were thinking mainly about Goodwillie's football ability when choosing to sign him, although they were well aware of his past.

"Please be assured that as a community football club we fully acknowledge this signing has divided opinion amongst our loyal fans and commercial stakeholders; We aim to rebuild that trust," read a statement on the Raith Rovers website.

"While acknowledging the gravity of what happened ten years ago, as a club we fully support and encourage rehabilitation, and many factors influenced our signing. First and foremost, this was a football related decision."