Plymouth Argyle will be without striker David Goodwillie for the biggest match of the club’s season after the former Scotland forward was ruled a rapist in a civil court.
Goodwillie, 27, and his former Dundee United team-mate David Robertson were found to have raped a woman at a flat in West Lothian after a night out in January 2011, despite never having faced a criminal trial, and ordered to pay £100,000 damages.
Plymouth play Liverpool at Home Park in an FA Cup third-round replay tonight but the club said in a statement that Goodwillie would not be considered for selection.
“We note today’s judgment from the Court of Session in Edinburgh regarding David Goodwillie,” a club spokesman said. “We await the full report, which we will consider in detail before making any comment. Until such time, David Goodwillie will not be selected to play for Plymouth Argyle.”
Goodwillie has made 22 appearances for the club this season and scored in their 4-2 weekend win over Stevenage.
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Goodwillie and Robertson were sued by Denise Clair after she was left “devastated” by the Crown’s decision not to prosecute the case in 2011.
The mother-of-one said that she woke up in a strange flat after a night of drinking and had consumed so much alcohol that she would have been incapable of consenting to sex.
Goodwillie and Robertson claimed the sex was consensual, but Lord Armstrong ruled that Clair’s evidence was “cogent, persuasive and compelling”.
A security firm employee who encountered Clair on the night out said she had been in need of an ambulance.
Gayle McGregor said: “She wasn’t in control of herself. Her eyes were rolling in her head. She couldn’t stand up straight. She couldn’t speak to me properly. She wasn’t compos mentis.”
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The judge concluded: “I find that both defenders [Goodwillie and Robertson] took advantage of the pursuer when she was vulnerable through an excessive intake of alcohol and, because her cognitive functioning and decision-making were so impaired, was incapable of giving meaningful consent — and that they each raped her.”
The case has echoes of the criminal proceedings involving Chesterfield striker Ched Evans, who was convicted in April 2012 of raping a woman who was too drunk to consent after a night out. After serving two and a half years of a five-year sentence, he was released in October 2014. His conviction was subsequently quashed by the Court of Appeal and he was found not guilty at a retrial in October last year.
Although Goodwillie was an unused substitute during the initial third-round tie, which ended in a 0-0 draw at Anfield, his absence threatens to cast a shadow over Plymouth’s preparations for the replay.
The Sky Bet League Two side will earn more than £1 million from the match — which will be broadcast live on BT Sport 2 — equivalent to approximately 20 per cent of their turnover, according to club chairman James Brent.
They are already without defender Gary Miller, who suffered ankle-ligament damage at Anfield.
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Plymouth had only 23 per cent possession and one shot on target in that game, but striker Jordan Slew says that they will not alter that approach.
“We have to do things different than we do usually,” he said. “We’ve got a lot more defensive role to play. At Anfield we were basically playing with a back six and a front four.
“They’re arguably one of the top teams in the country. It’s a big task but if we defend like we did at Anfield then hopefully we can nick a goal.”
Slew was a Liverpool fan growing up and said that he relished the chance to play against his childhood team.
“Players like [Daniel] Sturridge and [Philippe] Coutinho are world class,” he said. “It’s one of those games — it’s a mind-blowing feeling that I’ll always remember. The world’s watching us. It’s a chance to show people what you can do.”
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The winners will play Wolverhampton Wanderers at home on January 28.
