A Scottish football club has been urged to 'immediately' terminate the contract of a convicted domestic abuser who assaulted his Scotland International partner, in an online petition.
Paul Tansey, the brother of former Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths, subjected ex Lisa Robertson to a 10-month long campaign of domestic abuse which included her being brutally assaulted.
But despite the midfielder being sacked by Penicuik Athletic after his conviction in May, he was quietly signed by rival East of Scotland club Whitehill Welfare F.C. last month.
The community of Rosewell, where Whitehill Welfare FC is based, is demanding Tansey's contact is terminated with "immediate effect."
A petition launched by locals states: "The people of Rosewell and the wider Midlothian area do not condone domestic abuse of any form and it is not welcome here amongst this family-oriented community. Local football is a wonderful tradition, but a team cannot possibly support a person who has very deliberately physically and emotionally harmed others with lasting consequences. This community certainly will not.
"Too often we hear about players convicted of domestic abuse within football, and we will take a stand against it."
Tansey appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in May where he pleaded guilty to engaging in a course of conduct which was abusive of his partner between July 2020 and May 2021.
In one incident, the 37-year-old from Dalkeith headbutted Lisa when he kicked off after turning up in a rage at her Edinburgh home. He also regularly checked up on Lisa's phone use and repeatedly accused her of cheating on him during the couple's stormy relationship
The abuse also saw Tansey repeatedly contact Lisa by phone and text, attending at her home uninvited and threatening to self harm when the pair eventually split.
Celtic FC Women star Lisa, 30, signed for the Glasgow club in 2020 and was on loan at Birmingham last season.
The talented midfielder has also played for Hibernian Women, Glasgow City and Durham Women FC and has earned eight full international caps with the Scotland Women's national team.
Tansey was given a five year non-harassment order and 80 hours unpaid work.
Organisers of the petition to see the footballer binned by Whitehill are looking to lobby football associations and politicians with the results of the petition.
A spokesperson from the group told the Record: "My partner and his family are also victims of domestic abuse, so we have first hand experience of the physical, emotional and psychological trauma it inflicts.
"It makes me nervous to think of someone capable of such things casually integrating himself into our community in Rosewell. By signing him to the team, the message that Whitehall Welfare F.C. is portraying is that his actions are of no consequence as long as he can kick a ball well.
"There are more and more stories of football players carrying out domestic abuse against their partners, and football fans need to take a stand and say that this is not acceptable. It can never be plugged as a family-friendly sport when its players deliberately inflict terrible things upon their own family behind the scenes."
Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, said: " I was very concerned to hear of Paul Tansey being signed by Whitehill Welfare. Footballers are frequently held up as role models for young people and placing a domestic abuser in a prominent position of trust is simply inappropriate and plain wrong thinking.
"This is not where society wishes to go, and the club should look seriously at the message they are sending by this appointment. I ask them to reconsider their decision."
Whitehill Welfare F.C. have not responded to the Daily Record's request for comment.
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