David Goodwillie has said he is "innocent" in his first interview since a civil court ruled he raped a woman.
The former Scotland striker never faced any criminal charges and said he wanted to “finally speak my truth” after the court ruling in 2017.
At a civil case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Goodwillie and his former Dundee United team-mate, David Robertson, were judged to have raped Denise Clair.
The two men were ordered to pay damages of £100,000 to her, but no criminal charges were brought against either of them.
Goodwillie has been hit by repeated backlashes when trying to return to football, with Australian second-tier side FC Sorrento the latest to cancel his contract.
Speaking on the podcast Anything Goes with James English, Goodwillie said he wants to move on with his life.
He said: “I’m an innocent man. I still say to this day, I’m walking about free, I’m not on the sex offenders register, I’ve not got any charges for this, I don’t even have a criminal record anymore.”
The former Dundee United, Blackburn, Aberdeen and Plymouth player added: “I’ve cleaned up my act and I’ve tried to be a better person.”
Goodwillie said that he could not fully remember the night of the incident as he was drunk but said: “This case wasn’t violent, this was three people drunk, having consensual sex, what was happening in front of me was normal, she was talking, laughing, joking, joining in.
“So for her to say she can’t remember that, it’s hard for me to live with because I’m thinking if I could only show you the way you were acting we had no idea that you were going to wake up in the morning and not remember this.”
Goodwillie was playing for Plymouth at the time of the civil court judgment and left “by mutual consent” just days after the ruling.
Two months later, in March 2017, he signed for Clyde despite fierce criticism of the club’s decision to give him a deal.
He played for the Cumbernauld-based club for almost five years, becoming club captain and scoring 109 goals in more than 170 appearances, before Raith Rovers moved to sign him in February last year.
Following widespread opposition to the move, including from crime writer Val McDermid, a fan of the club, Goodwillie was released from his contract without playing a match.
A year later, there was a similar situation when Northern Premier League side Radcliffe responded to criticism by cancelling Goodwillie’s contract a day after he scored a hat-trick on his debut against Belper Town.
And Australian second-tier side FC Sorrento also followed suit, announcing last month that they had cancelled his contract after the news of Goodwillie’s impending arrival was met with a backlash on social media.
The footballer reportedly played for Glasgow United FC last Wednesday in a friendly match.
The club told the BBC that he “deserves a chance”, adding: “All he wants is to be left in peace and be allowed to play the game he loves.”
Rape Crisis Scotland can be contacted on 08088 01 03 02
