Controversial striker David Goodwillie’s return to Clyde is over, after bosses at the football club announced they were ending his contract just days after agreeing a loan deal for him.
The Cinch Scottish League One side released a statement late on Thursday, announcing they were “in the process of terminating the loan agreement” for the player.
That came in the wake of North Lanarkshire Council, which owns Broadwood Stadium where Clyde play their home games, announcing it was banning the footballer from the ground.
Clyde only confirmed on Tuesday that they had signed the 32-year-old, who was found by a judge in a civil case in 2017 to have raped a woman, on loan from Raith Rovers until the end of the season.
The move came after Goodwillie’s move to Raith sparked outrage, with the club later admitting “we got it wrong” with the signing.
He returned to Clyde, where he had played for several years and was previously club captain.
North Lanarkshire Council then announced it was banning him from entering the ground.
The local authority told the football club: “Goodwillie must not be permitted access to the stadium, for any purpose, with immediate effect.”
A spokesman for the council warned: “Should Mr Goodwillie enter the stadium, we will consider the contract to have been breached and we will take immediate steps to terminate it.
“In addition, we have informed Clyde FC that the council intends not to renew the lease with the club when the contract for the use of Broadwood Stadium expires in May 2023.”
In light of that Clyde released a statement at 10.26pm on Thursday, which said simply: “The club are tonight in the process of terminating the loan agreement with Raith Rovers for David Goodwillie.”
Clyde’s signing of Goodwillie on loan also prompted its entire women’s team to quit in protest.
The general manager and secretary of the women’s team resigned, with the players “all in agreement that we no longer wish to play for Clyde FC”.
In a statement they said: “As a group of female footballers all we wish to do is play the sport that we love, but due to the current circumstances we are unable to do this.”
