THE findings of the employment tribunal examining claims that Clyde FC, and the Clyde FC Community Foundation, reneged on a commitment to fund a salaried full-time head of women’s and girls’ football were made public in midweek.
The employment judge, Ronald Mackay, ruled that 24-year-old Lauren Rabbitte had been engaged as a volunteer by the foundation, and had no role at all with the football club. The full judgment can be found on the foundation’s website.
It emerged during the hearing that Rabbitte had continued to be paid a gross salary of just over £4,000 a month working for her mother’s company. This included the period she claimed a wage had been due to her by the football club.
It was, however, established that there been an intent by the found-ation to create a salaried post – but it was entirely dependent on funding from the Robertson Trust. The application was unsuccessful.
Despite the unequivocal nature of the findings, Rabbitte, who organised a crowd funder to help pay her legal fees, is considering an appeal. That is not a prospect which enthrals the charitable foundation, who had to spend £30,000 successfully defending the case and understandably don’t want to have to find more.
John Alexander, the foundation chair, took on the position at the same time as the Rabbitte claims came to light. He says his first reaction was that it was “horrific”, and that he would have settled the case had he concluded it had any substance.
“I had no background to it, and no axe to grind,” he said. “Women who are on the receiving end of abuse in football need to be supported and not undermined, which the judgment shows to be the case here.
“This has had such a fundamental and brutal impact on ourselves. We were told in advance that the legal fees would be in the region of £35,000, but had to proceed because otherwise it would have killed the foundation’s reputation at a point when we were trying to recover from the impact of the pandemic.”
The background to the story includes the return to Clyde of David Goodwillie, who was ruled to be a rapist by a civil court in 2017. In light of that verdict it was shameful for the club to sign him the first time, never mind accept him back on loan from Raith Rovers last March.
The Clyde Ladies players, who had played in Championship South when Goodwillie was initially at the club, walked away when he returned last March. Rabbitte left at around the same time.
There was, however, no direct conflation. The tribunal case was based solely on the claim that she had not been paid for the period of her alleged full-time position with the football club.
If any good can come from this episode it is that the foundation is hoping to re-start its girls’ and women’s football programme. Lessons have presumably been learned to put it on a sounder footing than last time, and donations can be made via their website.
WITH 16 of the opening 22 SWPL fixtures played, a picture is emerging of where teams might be placed when the league splits at the end of next month. Title contenders Glasgow City, Celtic and Rangers will be in the top six. Hearts look sure to join them – as do, with less degree of certainty, Hibernian.
Partick Thistle, who were praised in this column a fortnight ago and so inevitably went on to lose their next two games heavily, remain sixth, but are now only two points clear of Motherwell and Spartans.
Which raises an interesting question: with little prospect of relegation, might it not be better to end up in the bottom six and fine tune for next season instead of facing game after game against much better resourced teams?
It’s not a proposition Thistle manager Brian Graham is willing to entertain. “I told the girls that if anybody has the mindset that they’d rather finish seventh and play against the teams in the bottom six – there’s the door,” he said. “I’m a winner, so there’s your answer, right there.
“The girls are well on board. They want to challenge themselves, much as it’s going to be extremely difficult if we are in the top six.”
PEDRO Martinez Losa has stuck with the tried and tested for his Pinatar Cup squad. Former Hibs forward Jamie-Lee Napier, who plays for WSL Championship leaders London City Lionesses, is the only player who will have the chance to win a first Scotland cap this month.
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