Football bosses should step in to resolve the controversy over the signing of David Goodwillie for Raith Rovers, according to Nicola Sturgeon
The Fife club has faced a furious backlash after it announced the signing of the striker who was found by a civil court in 2017 to have raped a woman.
The arrival of Goodwillie at Stark's Park has caused an outcry from supporters and caused celebrity fan Val McDermid to cancel her sponsorship of the club.
Sturgeon claimed it “would be appropriate” for either the Scottish Professional Football League or the Scottish Football Association to step in over the controversy.
But the First Minister did not go into specifics about what she thinks should be done.
“Football players – it’s not an ordinary job, like First Minister is not an ordinary job,” she said.
“Football players are role models and football clubs have a responsibility to make sure they’re positive role models for the wee boys and wee girls who look up to them.
“This is a player who was found in a civil court, albeit on the balance of probabilities, to have raped a woman, and as far as I’m aware hasn’t shown any remorse or reflection for that and I think that Raith Rovers really do have to reflect on the message that sends.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, the club said the signing was “first and foremost… a football-related decision”, which the First Minister said “compounded the problem rather than made it any better”.
She added: “What they effectively seemed to be saying was that it didn’t matter how a man behaved towards a woman, the only thing that mattered to them was whether he could score goals for the football club.
“That really illustrates the distance we’ve got to go as a society if our rhetoric about zero-tolerance of sexual violence, violence against women, is to be a reality.”
Sturgeon also applauded the actions of McDermid – who she said she counts as a friend.
“I think she has shown more love of Raith Rovers, perhaps, than those who are taking these decisions on behalf of Raith Rovers,” she said."
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