Raith under more pressure as women’s team cut ties over David Goodwillie signing

Raith have come under further pressure over the signing of David Goodwillie with their women’s team said to be “completely distancing themselves” from the club.

Club sponsor Val McDermid revealed the women’s and girls’ teams were cutting ties with Rovers following the signing of Goodwillie, who was found by a judge in a civil case at the Court of Session in 2017 to have raped a woman.

Goodwillie, who never faced criminal charges, had been playing with Clyde for almost five years but Raith’s decision to sign the 32-year-old former Scotland, Dundee United, Aberdeen and Blackburn striker has caused a furore.

Crime writer and former Raith board member McDermid had warned against the signing several weeks ago and announced she was ending her sponsorship and “lifelong support” of her club on Tuesday.

Long-serving women’s team captain Tyler Rattray announced she was quitting the club on Tuesday but McDermid revealed all of her team-mates were looking to “completely distance themselves from Raith Rovers Football Club”.

McDermid told BBC Radio 4: “They are currently, as we speak, having new shirts printed that don’t have the Raith Rovers crest on them.

“They are committed to playing their fixture on Sunday not at Stark’s Park, Raith Rovers’ ground, but at another ground in the town, at the Windmill pitches.”

The chief executive of Scottish Women’s Football Aileen Campbell warned of the consequences of the “badly misjudged” decision.

“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,” she told BBC Radio Scotland.

“We can’t shy away from the fact it is a privilege to work in football and