Sky Sports issue apology to David Goodwillie as they correct 'racist' to 'rapist'

Sky Sports were forced to make an apology to David Goodwillie after they incorrectly referred to him as a 'racist' instead of a 'rapist' while covering his return to former club Clyde

Sky Sports issued an apology to David Goodwillie as they corrected an earlier comment where they called him a 'racist' instead of a 'rapist'.

Goodwillie has been at the centre of a Scottish football storm in recent weeks.

The 32-year-old was ordered to pay a woman £100,000 in compensation by a judge in a civil court case in 2017 after they ruled that he had raped her six years previously.

The former Scotland international, who has three caps for his country, was charged with rape in 2011 alongside then team-mate David Robertson but he was not criminally prosecuted.

Five years later the woman took civil action against the pair and the judged ruled that Goodwillie had committed rape.

As per civil law, the case was tried on the balance of probabilities and wasn't impacted by the lack of evidence which prevented a criminal case from going ahead.

He continued his football career with Clyde before joining Raith Rovers in January, but they have sent him back on loan to his former club following public backlash to his signing.

As Sky Sports covered the latest update on Wednesday, Goodwillie was incorrectly referred to as a racist.

Later in the day a Sky Sports News presenter said: "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."

Goodwillie's long-term future hangs in the balance as Raith were forced to quickly make a U-turn on their decision to sign him.

Two directors of the Scottish Championship side resigned, while their women's team severed all ties with the club.

They subsequently said he would not play for them, but he remains on their books while he spends the rest of the season out on loan.

In a two-sentence statement, Raith confirmed his temporary exit and thanked Clyde "for their co-operation".