The woman who was raped by footballer David Goodwillie has questioned why Nicola Sturgeon did not speak up earlier about him continuing his professional football career.
Although she welcomed Ms Sturgeon's criticism of him signing for Raith Rovers last week, said she could not recall the First Minister saying anything when a campaign was launched four years ago to force Clyde to sack Goodwillie.
Last Tuesday the First Minister said: “Football players – it’s not an ordinary job, like First Minister is not an ordinary job,
“Football players are role models and football clubs have a responsibility to make sure they’re positive role models for the wee boys and wee girls who look up to them.
“This is a player who was found in a civil court, albeit on the balance of probabilities, to have raped a woman, and as far as I’m aware hasn’t shown any remorse or reflection for that and I think that Raith Rovers really do have to reflect on the message that sends.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, the club said the signing was “first and foremost… a football-related decision”, which the First Minister felt “compounded the problem rather than made it any better”.
It is “shameful” that David Goodwillie was allowed to continue playing football after being found by a court to have committed rape, the woman he assaulted said.
Aberdeen's David Goodwillie. Raith Rovers consider new signing David Goodwillie as ‘part of the club’ after the arrival of the striker sparked departures and a backlash.
Jeff Holmes
The victim hit out at the footballing authorities, accusing them of being “complicit” with their “silence”.
The female victim who is 30-years-old spoke out for the first time since Raith Rovers’ signing of the player sparked a furious backlash from fans – with author and club sponsor Val McDermid and former prime minister Gordon Brown amongst those criticising the club.
The signing also saw the ladies’ team break their ties with the club, with their team – now known as the McDermid Ladies – playing their first match on Sunday backed by the best-selling crime writer.
Raith Rovers eventually backed down and announced on Thursday Goodwillie will not play for them after all, with chairman John Sim conceding they “got it wrong” when they signed the 32-year-old.
At a civil case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh in 2017, Goodwillie and his former Dundee United team-mate, David Robertson, were judged to have raped the victim and ordered to pay her damages of £100,000.
Robertson has since retired from professional football.
No criminal charges had been brought against either of them.
Goodwillie had joined Championship team Raith Rovers from Scottish League One side Clyde FC, where he had been a player for five years.
But the victim criticised the footballing authorities over their stance, saying: “Their silence deafened me.”
She told the Sunday Post newspaper: “It’s shameful they have allowed Goodwillie to continue playing all these years without taking any action. They are just as complicit as him and Robertson with their silence and looking the other way.”
She insisted: “It is not enough for the footballing authorities, the league, the SFA (Scottish Football Association) to stay silent on this.
“They talk so much about equality and respect but when faced with actual reality instead of waffle, their silence deafened me.
“There needs to be officials who do nothing but ensure players and clubs are properly made aware of their responsibilities.
“They should be developing educational programmes about sexual violence. Practical measures, not warm words about nothing, could promote real change.”
The SFA have been contacted for comment.
