Raith Rovers have been urged to rethink the controversial signing of David Goodwillie after politicians and charities branded the transfer "appalling".
Rape Crisis Scotland accused the Fife club of sending a "message of disregard to survivors" while a senior SNP figure claimed it was a "terrible decision".
Best-selling crime author Val McDermid has also ended her long-running sponsorship of the club as a result.
Goodwillie and fellow footballer David Robertson were accused by Denise Clair in 2011 of raping her following a night out in West Lothian.
The Crown declined to prosecute so the mum-of-one - who waived her right to anonymity - launched a civil case against the duo.
In the first civil case of its kind in Scotland, a judge ruled the pair to be rapists and ordered them to pay £100,000 damages despite never facing a criminal trial.
Clair maintained she was incapable of giving free agreement to sex because of her alcohol consumption, but Goodwillie and Robertson claimed that intercourse had been consensual.
An appeal by the pair was dismissed in 2017.
Goodwillie - a former Scotland international - was signed by Clyde and played for the Cumbernauld-based club for five years.
His transfer to Kirkcaldy marks a return to full-time football for the striker.
Hannah Bardell, the SNP MP for Livingston, said: "Truly appalling decision Raith Rovers. Respect to your fans calling this out. You should listen to them and rethink.
Kirsten Oswald, the Nationalists' depute leader at Westminster, said: "This is a terrible decision."
Rape Crisis Scotland, a leading charity that campaigns against violence to women, said Goodwillie's move should be "withdrawn".
In a statement, a spokesperson said: "We are surprised and deeply disappointed that Raith Rovers are happy to send such a clear message of disregard to survivors of rape and sexual violence in signing David Goodwillie
"Fundamentally – though it seems Raith FC do not agree - women’s lives are more important than men’s talent or careers. Footballers are role models – particularly for young people – and it’s not okay to have someone in this position who has been found by a senior judge to be a rapist.
"We wonder whether those who took this decision thought for a second about how it may look or feel to survivors to have to watch someone judged to have committed rape be celebrated and applauded.
"This was a bad decision that sends entirely the wrong message, and it should be withdrawn."
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