Fury as Raith Rovers sign rapist David Goodwillie

An ex-Premier League footballer found to have raped a woman after she blacked out has signed for a new Scottish club causing uproar among supporters including crime writer and shirt sponsor Val McDermid.

Raith Rovers’ decision to give a contract to former Blackburn Rovers striker David Goodwillie, 32, has caused revulsion at a time when there are deafening calls to clear up sexism and misogyny in football.

In 2017 an Edinburgh judge ruled that Goodwillie and David Robertson raped mother-of-one Denise Clair in her flat when she was too drunk to consent to sex.

The two professional footballers, who played for Dundee United at the time, were ordered to pay her £50,000 each after she sued them in the Scottish civil courts after prosecutors decided not to pursue the case through to a criminal trial.

But Goodwillie, who has no criminal record, resumed his career in the Scottish leagues with Clyde and signed for Championship club Raith Rovers hours before the transfer window shut yesterday.

Despite his new team heralding his arrival, Scottish crime writer Val McDermid, who was a major sponsor for Raith, has ended her lifelong support of the club and withdrawn all shirt branding and funding. McDermid’s website had been the club’s shirt sponsor since 2014 but, after previously warning the club against signing the player, she has now announced that endorsement is to be ended.

She said today: ‘The thought of the rapist David Goodwillie running out on the pitch at Starks Park in a Raith Rovers shirt with my name on it makes me feel physically sick’.

Raith Rovers’ decision to give a contract to former Blackburn Rovers striker David Goodwillie, 32, has caused revulsion among fans including writer Val McDermid, who has ended her sponsorship of the football club 

David Goodwillie’s signing was heralded by Raith Rovers – but the fans and many others have turned against them

‘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’, she added.

Denise Clair, who waived her right to anonymity, was awarded £100,000 after a judge ruled she was raped by the two footballers 

‘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’. 

Hours later the captain of Raith’s women’s team, Tyler Rattray, also quit the club after 10 years as a player in what is proving to be a PR disaster for the Fife club, which is holding firm.  

Raith Rovers Supporter Liaison Officer Margie Robertson also announced she had quit. She said: ‘Due to recent developments within the club I have today tendered my resignation. My values and that of the club are now on a divergent path. I would like to thank everyone who has encouraged me and helped me through out my tenure. I have enjoyed meeting so many fans.’

And then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: ‘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.’

Despite never facing a criminal trial, in 2017 ex-Scotland footballer Goodwillie and his former Dundee United colleague David Robertson were found to have raped Denise Clair at a flat in Armadale, West Lothian, in 2011.

David Goodwillie (left) and David Robertson (right), pictured at Edinburgh Court in November 2016, raped the woman when she was too drunk to consent, a judge said 

Ms Clair, who waived her right to anonymity, sued the duo after prosecutors decided not to pursue the case through the criminal courts. 

The judge said the then 30-year-old had been ‘incapable’ of giving consent, meaning the two men had raped her.

Making his ruling – and ordering the men to pay her £100,000 compensation – Lord Armstrong said Ms Clair’s evidence had been ‘cogent, persuasive and compelling’.

But he criticised the footballers for their evidence, suggesting Goodwillie had lied on oath to ‘protect his own interests’.

He said: ‘I find that, in the early hours of Sunday January 2, 2011, both defenders took advantage of the pursuer when she was vulnerable through an excessive intake of alcohol and because her cognitive functioning and decision making processes were so impaired, she was incapable of giving meaningful consent; and that they each raped her.’

Lord Armstrong also ordered the pair to pay Ms Clair – who had initially sued the footballers for £500,000 – compensation of £100,000.

During the hearing, the court was told how Goodwillie, then 27, and Robertson had always claimed that intercourse had been consensual.

But Ms Clair insisted she was incapable of consenting to sex because she was so drunk.

Making his ruling, the judge said he could be sure whether Goodwillie or Robertson truly believed Ms Clair was consenting.

He also rejected the players’ evidence which claimed the woman was not particularly affected by alcohol and was no more drunk than anyone else that night. 

Val McDermid said the decision had ‘shattered’ the club’s reputation and she had torn up her sponsorship deal and her season ticket

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon back her decision – and the decision by the team’s women’s captain to quit

Lord Armstrong said there was evidence that Ms Clair and Robertson were flirting earlier in the evening, but he added: ‘The mere fact of sexual attraction does not preclude rape.’

Describing Goodwillie’s behaviour, the judge said: ‘The first defender was not an impressive witness.

‘Particularly in relation to his assessment of the pursuer’s condition, his evidence was given with a view to his own interests rather than in accordance with the oath which he had taken.

‘I did not find his evidence to be persuasive.’

Referring to Robertson, he added: ‘Like the first defender, I assessed the second defender as a witness who was being selective as to what he was prepared to tell the court and whose evidence, directed as it was entirely to his own interests, was partial and partisan.

‘He did not present as a witness who was being entirely candid.

‘On the significant issues arising in the case, I did not find his evidence to be credible or reliable.’

The court was told how, before the rape took place, Ms Clair had enjoyed her life.

But she described in evidence how her life had changed in July 2017 when prosecutors decided not to pursue criminal proceedings. 

She was told by Crown Office that they were not going ahead with criminal proceedings.

Lord Armstrong said: ‘She found that decision difficult to understand and had felt that she had not been believed.

‘She felt that her life had been destroyed by something which had happened although, because of her lack of memory, she was not fully aware of what it was that had caused that effect,’ he said.

She had experienced suicidal thoughts and it was only last year that she felt comfortable forming an intimate relationship again.

Lord Armstrong said: ‘She maintained emphatically that she would never voluntarily have had sexual intercourse with two men simultaneously, and that she had never ever done that before. As she put it, she would never ever agree to do that.’

The judge said the Ms Clair’s memory loss was best explained by ‘the phenomenon of alcoholic blackout’. 

Now Goodwillie has signed for Raith, a petition has been started demanding the club ‘remove’ their new signing, while a sponsor pulled out in disgust.

A fundraiser has also been launched, which has raised nearly £1,500 for Rape Crisis Scotland.

Sponsor Paul Farley posted on Twitter: ‘Have written to @RaithRovers ending TagGames future shirt, or other, sponsorship and requesting our branding removed from shirts for the remainder of the season.

‘We stand with @valmcdermid and the majority of fans against violence towards women.’

Local paper the Fife Free Press launched a petition asking for Goodwillie to be removed so the club can remain ‘family’ orientated.

It said: ‘The Fife Free Press newspaper, which proudly serves the people of the Kirkcaldy area, feels that Raith Rovers can not continue to call themselves a family club while expecting fans to cheer for a man ruled to be a rapist wearing the club’s colours.’