Sky Sports have apologised to David Goodwillie for accidentally saying the striker was found to be a racist instead of a rapist.
Goodwillie, who was found by a judge in a civil case in 2017 to have raped a woman, joined Raith Rovers from Clyde at the end of the January transfer window.
As a result of the move, several prominent supporters, directors and sponsors, including high-profile author Val McDermid, withdrew their backing of Raith while two of the six club directors quit.
Raith Rovers rapist debacle shows football’s misogyny
Raith subsequently apologised, confirming Goodwillie would not be playing for them and they reviewed the forward’s contractual position, having signed a two-and-a-half year deal, as well the composition of their board.
The 32-year-old was sent back on loan to Clyde as a result, having spent the past five years with the Scottish League One club.
In reporting on that move, Sky Sports erroneously referred to Goodwillie as a racist, which a reporter clarified live on air, saying: “We would like to issue an apology to Mr Goodwillie.
“A little earlier this evening, in error, we reported that he had been ruled to be a racist in a civil case in 2017.
“The ruling in question was actually that Goodwillie was ruled to be a rapist in that case.
“We apologise for the error in reporting.”
. @Oldfirmfacts1 Sky Sports with quite the apology about Goodwillie just there pic.twitter.com/xZOSLKeFIN
— Steve Hunter (@mumbosteve) March 2, 2022
Goodwillie’s return to Clyde has met similar public criticism to his Raith move, with North Lanarkshire Council releasing a statement.
“In light of Clyde Football Club’s announcement confirming the return of David Goodwillie, we are reviewing all our commercial partnership arrangements with the club,” it said.
“We will announce the outcome as soon as all information has been considered and communicated directly with the club.
“The stadium had previously been under the management of North Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd, a separate entity to the council, but is now directly under council control.
“The council utterly condemns all and any violence towards, or abuse of, women. We offer a range of services to support women who experience abuse through Rape Crisis Lanarkshire and Aura and we would urge anyone in this position to make contact.”