An Australian football club has rescinded its offer to buy the disgraced Scottish striker David Goodwillie only hours after announcing his signing.
Sorrento FC, based in northern Perth, Western Australia, announced the signing on social media, calling Goodwillie a player with “real quality and experience”.
Hours later the semi-professional club deleted the announcement and said that it had torn up its non-commercial contract with the player. The club also apologised to those offended by the decision to sign him.
In 2017 in a civil case Goodwillie was ruled to have raped a woman in West Lothian after a night out in January 2011. No criminal proceedings were instructed against him but Goodwillie was ordered to pay £100,000 in damages by a judge.
In the first case of its kind for Scotland his accuser, Denise Clair, who waived her right to anonymity, took civil action against Goodwillie and his team-mate, David Robertson, after the Crown Office chose not to pursue a criminal prosecution because of insufficient evidence.
The judge in the Court of Session, Edinburgh, ruled that both players had raped Clair and ordered each of them to pay compensation.
The players vowed to appeal against the verdict but all three appeal judges at the Court of Session, Edinburgh, upheld the ruling against Goodwillie and Robertson. While Robertson retired from football, Goodwillie has continued to pursue his career after leaving English club Plymouth Argyle, where he was playing at the time.
He rejoined the Scottish club Raith Rovers in January 2022 amid much criticism. Two club directors, several staff members, the women’s team captain and most club volunteers resigned following the decision, while the club’s home shirt sponsor, the crime author Val McDermid, withdrew her support.
The signing was also criticised by Nicola Sturgeon, who was then the first minister, and the former prime minister Gordon Brown. A few days after Goodwillie joined the club, Raith Rovers announced that he would not play for them.
Initially announcing his signing, Sorrento FC said in a statement: “With David, we get a player with real quality and experience. He’s played in the top leagues in England and Scotland while also representing Scotland at international level so he’s a massive addition to the club.”
He was due to arrive in Perth within the next couple of weeks and play for the team for the rest of the 2023 National Premier League season. But in a later statement the club confirmed the contract had been rescinded.
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The club is managed by the former Motherwell and St Mirren player Steven McGarry.
Sorrento FC stated: “The club has informed David of its decision and apologises to anyone in our football and broader community that may have been caused offence by his signing.”
In March 2022, Goodwillie joined his former club Clyde for the rest of the season but the club’s women’s team resigned en masse, while North Lanarkshire council announced that its lease on Clyde’s Broadwood Stadium would be terminated early if Goodwillie was allowed to play.
Clyde cancelled the loan and he was eventually released by the host club Raith Rovers at the end of the season. Since then Goodwillie has played for Livingston United and English non-league club Radcliffe, leaving both after a single match amid public criticism.
A social media account claiming to belong to Goodwillie issued a statement in which he said he wanted to “speak his truth”.
“Due to recent events, I feel it’s only right to myself, and finally speak my truth, for the past year I have actively tried to speak with the tabloids/news/interviewers anyone that would listen, and had the same outcome, they weren’t willing to give me a platform to tell my side, I was told they would come across hypocritical,” the statement read.
“I’m going to take the next few days and write everything down and share it with whoever wants to hear what I have to say.
“I owe it to my wife and children, a lot has been said that is misinformation, I have been silenced for long enough, there will be nothing off the table, and after that if anyone has any questions on what I have to say, I will try and answer them all in time.”
