David Goodwillie: Council leader threatens to kick club from home ground if they sign rapist footballer
A council leader has threatened to kick a football club from its home ground if it agrees to sign rapist footballer David Goodwillie.
Goodwillie, and fellow footballer David Robertson, were ruled to be rapists in a 2017 civil case.
The pair, who have never faced a criminal trial over the allegations, were ordered to pay £100,000 in damages after a judge ruled they raped a woman at a property in West Lothian following a night out in January 2011.
However, Glasgow United FC fielded the 34-year-old former Scotland striker in a friendly against West of Scotland Premier Division side Pollok earlier this month – sparking condemnation from Rape Crisis Scotland.
The group branded the move a “bad decision that sends entirely the wrong message”.
Now, Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken has warned that the club could lose its council-owned Greenfield Football Centre home if it signs the striker.
In a statement, released by the authority, she said: “David Goodwillie has been found, in court, to be a rapist.
“However, in more than 12 years, he has never once shown any kind of contrition or remorse.
SNP’s Susan Aitken
“Any club that signs him is making a very clear statement about its attitude to the safety of women and girls – both in sport and in its community.
“It would be an outrageous decision, wholly at odds with how community facilities like Greenfield should be run.
“I’ve asked officers to look at the council’s agreement with Glasgow United and made it clear that I’m ready for the city to walk away.”
Goodwillie has seen several football club contracts collapse due to public outrage over the case, but was spotted playing for ninth-tier side Glasgow United FC in a friendly match last Wednesday.
A club spokesperson previously told BBC Scotland that Goodwillie “deserves a chance” and that he wants to be “left in peace and be allowed to play the game he loves”.
Earlier this month, Goodwillie said he was an “innocent man” in an appearance on the podcast Anything Goes with James English.
He also said he wants to move on with his life.
He said: “I’m an innocent man. I still say to this day, I’m walking about free, I’m not on the sex offenders’ register, I’ve not got any charges for this, I don’t even have a criminal record any more.”
The former Dundee United, Blackburn, Aberdeen and Plymouth player added: “I’ve cleaned up my act and I’ve tried to be a better person.”
Goodwillie said that he could not fully remember the night of the incident as he was drunk, but said: “This case wasn’t violent, this was three people drunk, having consensual sex, what was happening in front of me was normal, she was talking, laughing, joking, joining in.
Read more:
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“So for her to say she can’t remember that, it’s hard for me to live with because I’m thinking if I could only show you the way you were acting, we had no idea that you were going to wake up in the morning and not remember this.”
Goodwillie was playing for English club Plymouth at the time of the civil court judgment and left “by mutual consent” just days after the ruling.
Two months later, in March 2017, he signed for Clyde despite fierce criticism of the club’s decision to give him a deal.
He played for the Cumbernauld-based club for almost five years, becoming club captain, before Raith Rovers moved to sign him in February last year.
Following widespread opposition to the move, including from crime writer Val McDermid, a fan of the club, Goodwillie was released from his contract without playing a match.
A year later, there was a similar situation when Northern Premier League side Radcliffe responded to criticism by cancelling Goodwillie’s contract a day after he scored a hat-trick on his debut against Belper Town.
And Australian second-tier side FC Sorrento also followed suit, announcing last month they had cancelled his contract after the news of Goodwillie’s impending arrival was met with a social media backlash.
England star Jess Carter says she has been the victim of racist abuse online during the UEFA Women’s Euros in Switzerland.
The Lionesses defender, who has 49 England caps, said she will be “taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with”.
In an Instagram post, the 27-year-old player said: “From the start of the tournament, I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”
Jess Carter. Pic: PA
Carter said she was stepping back from social media to “protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can”.
She added: “Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it.”
Carter also said that England have made some “historic changes with the Lionesses squad” that she was “so proud” of, and she hopes that by speaking out about racial abuse “it will make another positive change for all”.
‘Abhorrent abuse’
The Football Association leadership has condemned the “abhorrent abuse” against Carter and has contacted UK police about it.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement: “Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs. We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.
“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.”
Carter during a training session in Switzerland. Pic: PA
The Lionesses said in a statement: “We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism.
“No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life.”
They added: “Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”
Anger and sadness
England teammate Lucy Bronze said there was “anger” and “sadness” among the squad following the abuse.
Bronze said: “I think we all know that any player of colour that’s played for England has probably gone through racist abuse. That’s a sad fact.”
She told Sky News’ sports correspondent Rob Harris that social media platforms need to be held more accountable.
Bronze added: “People need to be held accountable for their actions, whether it’s in-person or online. The abuse is not okay. Racism is not okay.”
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The prime minister said on X that there was “no place for racism in football or anywhere in society”.
Sir Keir Starmer added: “I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch.”
Carter has started all four of England’s games at the tournament.
The defending champions face Italy on Tuesday night in Geneva in the Euros semi-finals. If they win and reach the final, they will play either Germany or Spain, who face each other on Wednesday.
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The Lionesses also said that until now, they have chosen to take the knee before matches.
“It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,” they said.
England won’t be taking the knee before semi-final
The Lionesses said they have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick-off in the match against Italy.
“We hope the game can come together to see what more can be done.”
Kneeling, a symbolic anti-racism gesture, came to prominence in 2016 when NFL player Colin Kaepernick knelt in protest during the United States national anthem and became more widespread during the Black Lives Matter movement.
As head of football’s anti-racism body, there was dread for Sanjay Bhandari watching England’s Women’s Euros quarter-final with Sweden.
But that’s, grimly, how it always is. Concerned that black players will be singled out for blame. Not with a legitimate critique of their performances, but with toxicity and racism.
And now Kick It Out is working with the Football Association to support Jess Carter after the England defender spoke out over the abuse she has been targeted with throughout the Women’s European Championship.
The players want social media firms to do more, but Mr Bhandari, the Kick It Out chairman, is concerned by their limited approach to the scourge of online hate.
Jess Carter says she has been the target of racist abuse. Pic: PA
“The social media companies need to do far more,” he told Sky News. “They’ve actually gone backwards over the last four or five years, not forwards. It’s got worse on social media, not better.
“And they need to provide us with the tools to help keep us safe and to remove some of this toxicity from the platforms. They’re just not doing enough.
“I would say that X is the worst. It has become no-holds-barred.
“And with Instagram, it is much more in the direct messaging, and I think there needs to be much more done there to protect people from those messages.”
Meta, which owns Instagram, did not reply to a request for comment.
There was no response from an email sent to X’s press email address.
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‘People need to be held accountable’ after Euros racism
LinkedIn indicated that X’s UK managing director Jonathan Lewis’s account had seen a request for comment, but there was no response.
On Friday, Mr Lewis and Premier League club Burnley were celebrating a new partnership in an announcement that made no mention of the abuse that many players across the world face on X.
The hope is that the Online Safety Act will lead to social media firms implementing the safety tools required of them.
Mr Bhandari said: “They have to be enforced by law enforcement against individual perpetrators, and also the regulatory parts need to be forced against the social media companies to force them to do the things that they need to do.”
Grimly familiar situation
The FA reported the abuse suffered by Carter to police, and the hope is for speedy action because this is a grimly familiar situation.
After the men’s Euros final in 2021, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused after missing penalties in the shootout defeat to Italy.
Bukayo Saka was among the England players targeted after missing penalties in the Euros final. Pic: Reuters
While players have been taking a knee against racism in men’s and women’s games, the Lionesses feel that is no longer enough at these Euros.
They will stand instead before the semi-final with Italy because they say a new approach is needed to tackle racism.
Read more from Sky News:
Lionesses ‘very optimistic’ Williamson will be fit for semi-final
Team went from sloppy to celebratory in nerve-shredding quarters
Carter didn’t just face racism around the quarter-final that England won on penalties after fighting back from 2-0 down against Sweden here in Zurich.
She has been subjected to abuse throughout the Euros.
“I’m really feeling for Jess and what’s sad is that this is shocking, but not surprising,” Mr Bhandari said.
“I watch every England game, at every tournament, with the fear that after the match, there’s going to be abuse of a black player using the spurious basis of performance as an excuse to justify unjustifiable racism. All racism is unjustifiable.
“The fact that someone’s had a good or bad game in your opinion does not justify that kind of racist abuse.”
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