News
Radcliffe FC issue apology as striker David Goodwillie, ruled to have raped a woman, is released from the club
His signing was effectively kept under wraps until he appeared on the team sheet this week.
Non-league football team Radcliffe FC have issued a statement confirming the release of recently acquired player, David Goodwillie, who was found to have raped a woman in a court case.
The Northern Premier League side based in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, informed fans of the Scottish striker’s departure on Wednesday, following intense backlash on social media.
Writing in the brief statement by way of an apology, Radcliffe said that his rather out-of-the-blue signing was a “significant misstep and [their] due diligence should have been of a much higher standard.”
Back in 2017, a judge ruled Goodwillie, 33, guilty of raping a woman. He will not train or play for the club again at any point in the future.
The former Dundee, Blackburn and Aberdeen striker – who has played for 14 different clubs since beginning his professional career back in 2006 – was previously released from Scottish club Raith Rovers after a short-lived spell which ended in March 2022, failing to play a single game for the team.
He was loaned to the Scottish Championship side from semi-pro team Clyde FC, who he spent more than five years playing for.
However, after information surrounding his civil court case and rape charge became public, both teams refused to play him and Clyde’s women’s team even said they no longer wished to represent the club while he was still under contract.
Goodwillie’s signing seemingly came out of nowhere as no official announcement was made by the club. Radcliffe’s social media accounts were hit with abuse when he suddenly appeared in the matchday squad for their game against Belper Town, during which he made his debut and scored a hattrick.
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As the club on go to detail in their full response, they insisted that the club “have always been about second chances and have been a part of many players and staff members rehabilitation along that journey” and “[giving] people a chance to improve their life and found support in this endeavour.
“When the Club were presented with David Goodwillie that same logic was applied… We can vouch for all the people at the Club involved in this signing did so out of the desire to do a good thing for an individual with an admittedly tainted past as we have done so successfully before but this was a bridge too far.
“This move came about very quickly, with clearance only granted extremely late leaving us in a position where our media volunteers were unable to release details prior to team sheets being produced – while regrettable this was also unavoidable.”
They go on to admit that, from the top to the bottom of the club, “[they] got this wrong” and their “focus was misplaced”, adding finally, “this is a mistake that will never happen again.”
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Featured Image — Wikimedia Commons/Radcliffe FC
News
New endometriosis pill helping hundreds of women with ‘debilitating’ condition to be made available on NHS
Emily Sergeant
A groundbreaking new pill to help women with a ‘debilitating’ condition is set to be made available on the NHS.
The new daily pill for endometriosis – which has been approved for use on the NHS in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – is called linzagolix, and will be available for those who have had previous treatment for endometriosis, working to manage any symptoms they may be experiencing.
Around 1.5 million women in the UK are thought to be currently living with endometriosis.
Endometriosis can cause chronic pain, heavy periods, and extreme tiredness when tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body.
As mentioned, linzagolix will be available specifically for patients whose previous medical or surgical treatments for endometriosis have been unsuccessful, and will be given alongside ‘add-back’ hormone therapy – which involves using low-dose hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to prevent menopause-like symptoms and bone loss.
This is the second take-at-home treatment to be approved to treat endometriosis on the NHS, and it’s thought that more than 1,000 women will benefit.
In clinical trials, linzagolix was shown to be successful in reducing painful periods and non-menstrual pelvic pain, compared with placebo, hence why it has been approved on the NHS by NICE.
“This is welcome news for women with endometriosis who haven’t found relief from previous therapies or surgery,” commented Dr Sue Mann, who is the National Clinical Director in Women’s Health for NHS England.
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“It’s another treatment option which will help women take control of their health and better manage the symptoms of this often painful and debilitating condition.
“This is a testament to our ongoing commitment to improving treatment, care and quality of life for women.”
Featured Image – Heute
News
Wigan woman jailed after hitting pedestrian in Fiat 500 while driving high on nitrous oxide ‘balloons’
Emily Sergeant
A young woman from Wigan has been handed jail time after hitting a pedestrian while driving high on nitrous oxide.
Louisa Tunstall was driving a white Fiat 500 towards the East Lancashire Road in Wigan at around 7pm on Friday 24 May 2024 – a time when traffic conditions were said to be ‘quiet’ – but Tunstall was under the influence of a now-banned drug, nitrous oxide, at the time of the incident, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed.
While driving under the influence, 19-year-old Tunstall veered to the left onto the pavement and collided with a 51-year-old woman pedestrian.
After striking the woman, the car then overturned and, in the process, caused serious life-changing injuries.
When questioned by police, Tunstall stated that she ‘took her eyes off the road’ to retrieve something in the footwell before knowing the car had flipped, but she also confirmed that she had just been out to purchase nitrous oxide to use that evening.
After obtaining witness accounts, investigating officers were able to track down nearby CCTV footable which showed Tunstall inhaling nitrous oxide through a balloon whilst driving, seconds before the collision occurred.
Further investigation by GMP’s Forensic Vehicle Examination Unit examined the Fiat 500 and confirmed that no defects were found on the car to contribute towards the collision.
Still to this day, the victim says she is trying to recover from the injuries sustained to her leg that will prevent her from continuing life as she did before.
“The incident is still very raw when I think about it,” the victim explained in her impact statement released by GMP. “I become upset when I think at everything which has been taken away from me and the ongoing affect it has had and continues to have on my daily life.”
GMP says it’s seeing the use of nitrous oxide being a factor in incidents they attend increasing year on year.
Nitrous oxide, also known as ‘laughing gas’, is reported to produce euphoria, relaxation, dizziness, giggling or laughing fits, impaired judgement, and occasionally dissociation and hallucinations – which GMP says affects reaction time and and is ‘likely lead to impairment’ in driving performance, particularly when faced with an unexpected or hazardous situation.
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Tunstall appeared at Bolton Crown Court this week, and has been sentenced to one year and eight months imprisonment for having possession of a Class C drug, driving under the influence of drugs, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Alongside being jailed, she was also disqualified from driving for two years and eight months, and has been ordered to take an extended test when she is released.
Featured Image – GMP
Danny Jones -
8th February 2023 
