Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan apologises for 'rash' David Goodwillie post

Sheffield Wednesday captain Barry Bannan has apologised after appearing to support a fellow player who was found to have committed rape.

The former Scotland midfielder called David Goodwillie a "top man" after sharing a social media post from the fellow Scot, in which Goodwillie vowed to "speak my truth".

Striker Goodwillie was ruled to have raped a woman in a civil court case in 2017, and was ordered to pay £100,000 in damages by a judge. He never faced a criminal prosecution.

He was subsequently signed by Clyde where he played for five years.

But after joining Championship club Raith in 2022, he was dropped without playing a game after a fan backlash.

The latest controversy came after Goodwillie, 34, was taken on by part-time Australian side Sorrento FC.

The club quickly ditched his contract following criticism, apologising for any offence caused by his signing.

After being dropped, Goodwillie, who had stints with Aberdeen, Blackburn Rovers and Dundee United, took to Twitter vowing to tell his side of the story.

The message was shared to Bannan's story on Instagram with the caption: "Topman that deserves to be heard".

But after several critical responses, Bannan deleted the post and apologised.

Writing on his Instagram account he said: "I would like to apologise for my comment earlier this evening… The comment was rash and I want to make it clear I would never defend abuse or violence. I’m sorry again if this offended anyone it wasn’t my intention."

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