Footballer David Goodwillie is to appeal against a landmark civil court ruling which found he and a teammate had raped a young mother.
The former Scotland internationalist and fellow player David Robertson were last month ordered to pay their victim £100,000 in damages.
But Mr Goodwillie - against whom criminal charges were dropped - has decided to fight his defeat at the Court of Session and has quit football, he says, to concentrate on clearing his name.
His solicitor, Derek Stillie, told the Sunday Post newspaper: “There will be a motion lodged with the court on Monday. I can’t say anything about the grounds of the appeal because we’re only at the very early stages.”
Mr Goodwillie’s victim, Denise Clair, waived her rights to anonymity. She has always argued she was too drunk to consent to have sex with Mr Goodwillie and Mr Robertson, who both played for Dundee United at the time. She woke up in a strange and empty flat in Armadale, West Lothian, in the early hours of January 2, 2011.
Lord Advocate Frank Mullholland decided there was not enough evidence for a criminal prosecution. Ms Clair decided to seek a civil action, where the burden of proof is lower. Her victory, the first of its kind in Scotland, made legal history.Evidence was led showing her blood alcohol level was three times the drink-drive limit. Mr Goodwillie and Mr Robertson, who is now a boiler salesman, always argued the sex with Ms Clair was consensual. Judge Lord Armstrong found they were lying.
Ms Clair, speaking to the Sunday Post, said she was not surprised by the appeal. “It’s pretty typical of someone who cannot admit they have done something so terribly wrong.” Her MSP ,Neil Findlay, is to raise the failure to prosecute the men in Holyrood.
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