David Goodwillie signing could be devastating for women’s football, Raith warned

Signing David Goodwillie has “tarnished” the reputation of Raith Rovers and could have “devastating consequences” for females in the sport, the chief executive of Scottish Women’s Football (SWF) has warned.

Aileen Campbell said the Kirkcaldy Championship club had made a “badly misjudged” decision signing Goodwillie, 32, who was found by a civil court to have raped a woman.

The controversial signing has already seen the club lose its main sponsor, with author Val McDermid – whose name is on the club’s shirts and on one of its stands – withdraw her support.

Tyler Rattray, the captain of Raith’s women’s team, has also quit in protest, along with others at the club, while former prime minister and Raith Rovers fan Gordon Brown has made clear he does “not support” Goodwillie’s signing.

An online petition has been set up calling for the player to be removed from the club and to “ensure that future signing decisions can continue to be family-friendly”.

Ms Campbell, a former communities secretary in the Scottish Government, said Raith’s decision to sign Goodwillie had been a poor one.

She told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme the move “sends the wrong signal, message, to society and particularly to women”.

She added: “The fact that the women’s club has lost its captain as a result of this is devastating, that would be a devastating consequence to lose women from the game as a result of this poor decision.”

SWF has “offered support to the women’s club and the women’s team to make sure we can help them through this”, Ms Campbell added.

Raith Rovers signed Goodwillie despite a court ruling in a civil case in 2017 that he and now retired player David Robertson had raped a woman.

The two men were ordered to pay damages of £100,000 to the woman, but no criminal charges were brought against either of them.

The club has insisted the signing was “first and foremost… a football-related decision”.

In a statement defending the move, the club described Goodwillie as a “proven goal scorer” whose footballing ability will help “strengthen the Raith Rovers playing squad”.

But Ms Campbell said: “We can’t shy away from the fact it is a privilege to work in football and football has real influence and sway, particularly over young fans, and that is why this decision feels poor.

“It does have impact. We can concentrate on the actions on the pitch, but we can’t shy away from the fact that football has huge influence off the pitch as well.

“We should endeavour to make sure that influence is a positive one.”

She added that the support for McDermid and Rattray – with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon praising their stance – shows “society doesn’t want to accept violence against women”.

Ms Campbell said of Raith Rovers: “Given they have lost the support of high-profile fans, Val McDermid, that they have lost the captain of the women’s team, they have lost volunteers, they have lost fans, they have lost staff, they really do need to think about whether this has been worth it.

“It is a badly misjudged decision by the club and we as an organisation are particularly concerned about losing more women from the game, a game we have worked so hard to try to build up and to encourage more girls and women to try to take part in, that would be a devastating consequence of this.”

Raith Rovers now “need to really think and reflect on the fact that… they have tarnished their reputation, they have lost some significant supporters, they have lost their community supporters, they have lost staff, they have lost directors and they have lost volunteers”, Ms Campbell said.

She added: “That’s a huge thing for a club, particularly a club like Raith Rovers. They can’t separate that societal impact away from what happens on the pitch, football has huge influence and we need to ensure that influence is there as a force for good.”