DENISE Clair has said she is “appalled” the footballer ruled by a civil court to have raped her, has resumed his playing career.
Former Scotland striker David Goodwillie made his debut for League Two side Clyde on Saturday, just weeks after vowing to quit football to clear his name.
Denise Clair won a £100,000 settlement after a historic civil case ruled she had been raped by Goodwillie and former St Johnstone midfielder David Robertson during a night out.
The Crown Office had refused to prosecute the pair.
Ms Clair, 30, says she is disgusted at the message his return sends out to young football fans. She said: “I’m appalled a club will allow a rapist and liar to represent them.
What message will this send to impressionable young fans? They are saying you can behave like an animal and still be a sporting hero.”
Goodwillie, 28, and Robertson, 30, were branded rapists by a judge following the civil hearing earlier this year.
Lord Armstrong ruled, on the balance of probabilities, that both men took advantage of Ms Clair while she was too drunk to consent.
Both men are appealing. In 2015, the English FA carried out a review into whether Ched Evans should be allowed to play football professionally after he was released from jail pending an appeal for his rape conviction.
Now Ms Clair is calling for the authorities north of the Border to take firm action.
She said: “The SFA has a role to play in ensuring standards are upheld. I would like to see whether they believe Goodwillie is fit to be seen as a professional footballer with all the influence that has on people who watch the game?”
She was driven to the brink of suicide as she struggled to cope when criminal prosecutors dropped their rape charge against Goodwillie in 2011.
Within hours of the decision, the player completed a £2.8 million move to Blackburn Rovers.
Devastated Ms Clair was eventually forced to take civil action against the men and in a ruling which made Scottish legal history in January, Lord Armstrong awarded her £100,000 in damages.
Goodwillie subsequently announced he was leaving English club Plymouth Argyle by “mutual consent”.
His former Dundee United team-mate Robertson, 30, said he was “retiring” from the game soon after the ruling.
The SFA did not respond to requests for a comment.
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