SORT THIS OUT
Sturgeon wants action against Raith ++ McDermid says she was ‘lied to’ by official ++ Women’s team break away
about the signing of 32-year-old Goodwillie.
● The Raith Women’s team, whose captain Tyler Rattray was among those to quit in protest, announced their intention to break away and dissociate themselves from the club.
● Club legend Steven McAnespie instructed his lawyer to write to Raith Rovers asking that he be removed from their Hall of Fame.
Goodwillie escaped criminal prosecution alongside then Dundee United team-mate David Robertson after they were accused of rape in 2011. But their victim successfully claimed £100,000 from them in a civil action at the Court of Session in 2017 after a judge ruled they had raped her.
Now the First Minister has urged the SPFL to intervene following Raith’s decision to sign Goodwillie, although it would fall within the remit of the SFA’s Professional Game Board to deal with such matters.
Legally, there would appear to be no precedent for them to do so, given that the striker spent five years playing for Clyde without any intervention prior to joining Raith. Nonetheless, Sturgeon said: ‘It would be appropriate for the SPFL to take action.
‘We have to recognise footballers are role models and young boys and girls look up to footballers, so there is a responsibility on football clubs to make sure those role models are positive.
‘We are talking about a football player who, in a civil court, was found to have raped a woman (and) who, as far as I’m aware, has never shown any remorse or reflection and I think that sends a really damaging message.
‘I think it tells us that, while we talk about the importance of tackling sexual violence and abuse of women, we have an awful long way to go to make zero tolerance of sexual violence a reality.’
Meanwhile, McDermid — a key sponsor and financial backer of Raith — ramped up the pressure on the club yesterday after revealing a conversation she had with a senior club official before the signing was made.
After Rovers’ initial interest in Goodwillie had been reported in late December, McDermid warned the club against signing him — and has now claimed that she was promised they would not do so.
Her website had been their main shirt sponsor since 2014 until she terminated her association with the club on Tuesday.
Speaking to the BBC’s Woman’s Hour, McDermid said: ‘I was lied to by a board member just a few days before this signing took place. When the subject first came up in local newspapers, I raised it with a board member last time I was at a game.
‘(They) looked me straight in the eye and said: “The club has no interest in Goodwillie whatsoever. I agree with you, we shouldn’t sign someone like that”. Next thing I know, (they are) negotiating his transfer, so that’s the kind of people we are dealing with here.
‘It sets a terrible example for what looks to be a community club. We have a very strong sense of Rovers being rooted in the community in Kirkcaldy and the surrounding area. It’s just the wrong thing to do for the club, it sends all the wrong messages.’
McDermid insists she will now give her full backing to the Raith Women’s team, who intend to break away and form their own club.
She said: ‘I’ve pivoted towards the women and girls teams and my position now is to support them into rebuilding their confidence and trust in themselves. They had a meeting last night and the upshot of that is that essentially they want to completely distance themselves from Raith Rovers.
‘They are now having shirts printed that don’t have Raith Rovers’ crest on them. They are talking about changing the name of the club but they are adamant they no longer wish to be associated with Raith Rovers.’
In a statement which was widely criticised on Tuesday night, Raith insisted that their decision to sign Goodwillie was purely ‘football-related’.
They seem determined to stand by the player, with club captain Kyle Benedictus claiming that Goodwillie has the full support of his new team-mates.
‘We’re professionals and want to do the best for Raith Rovers, and whatever happens, happens,’ said Benedictus. ‘Obviously, we know David’s here and he’s a Raith Rovers player now, so he’s got the backing of all of us.
‘We know how good a player he is. I played against him when we were in League One and he was at Clyde and I played against him when he was at (Dundee) United and I was at Dundee.’
Speaking after Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with Queen of the South, which Goodwillie watched from the sidelines because of injury, Benedictus added: ‘So, I know how good a player he is and, on the chances we created on Tuesday night, who knows how many he might have scored?
‘I’m 100 per cent behind the football reasons. We’re professionals and we need to do our best for Raith Rovers, and he’s part of that. We’re here to back him, as players on the pitch. I know he’s a professional and he’ll do his talking on the pitch.
‘Everybody’s got their own opinion on what’s happened. I can’t say what’s right and what’s wrong. We need to respect their opinions on the matter.
‘But we’ve got a job to do between now and the end of the season and obviously that aim is to get into the play-offs again.’
Last night, McAnespie — one of Raith’s 1994 League Cup winners — said he wanted his name removed from the club’s Hall of Fame.
‘I am disgusted… disgusted by the signing of that player by the club I love,’ he Tweeted.
‘We are role models. Young people look to football players and clubs for examples of how to play, to act and to live. I know and understand how important a club’s reputation is.
‘My lawyer is issuing a statement today, it needs more of our guys to make a stand. I have a daughter and we all have females in our life. The club statement was embarrassing, whoever wrote it needs to step down and apologise.
‘I’m beyond livid, I loved being proud of being a Rover.
‘I’m withdrawing my Hall of Fame membership with a heavy, heavy heart. I can’t be involved with an organisation that excuses that sort of behaviour.’
Sportsmail last night approached Raith Rovers for comment.