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A promising footballer says his career is ruined after a 16-month ordeal resulted from a false accusation of rape against him.

Former Partick Thistle starlet Jordan McGrotty was cleared last week of a sex attack on a 25-year-old woman he’d met at a Glasgow nightclub.

He spent 16 months awaiting trial before a jury found the 21-year-old striker not guilty.

Jordan has told the Daily Record he is trying to pick up the pieces of his shattered career after the accusations left him too stressed to leave his house.

Jordan – who has been released by the Scottish Premiership club – was out clubbing with pals at Glasgow’s Savoy when he met his accuser.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that the woman – who cannot be named for legal reasons – travelled with Jordan by taxi to his home in Yoker, near Glasgow.

They had earlier been filmed by CCTV kissing in the street. Jordan’s mum Liz was in the next room when the woman claimed the footballer forced her down on his bed and raped her .

But Jordan claimed he fell ill during consensual sex and asked the woman to leave.

(Image: Daily Record)

He was left reeling when police visited his home the next day to quiz him over an alleged rape. And he waited 11 months before his first appearance in court.

“I was housebound. I was embarrassed to go out,” he said.

“Nobody knew about it except me and my mum and my family.

“Before it happened, I was back training and getting fit. But afterwards, that was me ruined.

“I would lie in bed and see doctors because I was depressed big time. After I appeared at court,

everybody found out. That was when it was at its worst.”

He went on: “I had nothing to hide. But when I was looking at the jury, I was thinking to myself, ‘These are random people and they are going to decide my life here’.

“I was scared. Those five days were the worst of my life. I had no emotion – I just sat staring into space and listening to people talking about me.”

Throughout his trial, Jordan had the support of his family, his new girlfriend Natasha and his former teammates. He was acquitted by a majority verdict last Tuesday.

He told the Record that his sexual activity with the girl lasted less than a minute before he was sick.

Jordan added: “I said I would take her home in the morning – but then I thought, ‘No, I’ll just phone her a taxi’.

“She walked downstairs and I conked out. She had a conversation with my mum in the kitchen later, telling her she was going to be so hungover in the morning and was going to chill all day.”

The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday, December 14. The woman later told police she had been raped by Jordan.

Police arrived at Jordan’s house at 4.30pm the next day.

(Image: Daily Record)

“When they walked into my room, I was like, ‘Are you kidding on?’” he told the Record.

“I was in shock. A policeman had to stand and watch me get dressed so they could take me to the station. They put me in a cell and explained it was my legal right to speak to a lawyer.

“I had never been in trouble with the police and had never been in a cell. I was saying, ‘Listen, interview me and I’ll tell you what happened so I can go home’.

“But they said I should phone a lawyer then speak to them.”

Jordan spent two nights in a holding cell before appearing at court.

He said: “I don’t understand how this came to court. My lawyer said that he was surprised due to the lack of evidence. It is hard enough to convict proper rapists and help proper victims without this kind of thing.”

Jordan says he is determined to try to resume his football career.

He said: “Starting today, I’m going to get my career back on track, start training with teams and get fit again.”