Clyde are to cancel David Goodwillie’s loan deal from Raith Rovers following a backlash over the striker returning to the club.
It comes after the Scottish side’s women’s team announced they would be breaking away from the club due to Clyde agreeing to resign Goodwillie, who was ruled to be a rapist in a civil court. North Lanarkshire council also said that Goodwillie would be banned from the club’s stadium following the deal.
The striker spent five years at Clyde before signing for Raith Rovers in January, which prompted a fierce backlash and led to the Championship side vowing that he would not appear for the club.
Goodwillie then returned to Clyde on loan but in a short statement late on Thursday night, Clyde said: “The club are tonight in the process of terminating the loan agreement with Raith Rovers for David Goodwillie.”
Crime writer Val McDermid, who ended her sponsorship of Raith Rovers in the wake of their decision to sign Goodwillie, had earlier praised Clyde’s women’s team for taking their stance.
In a statement, the players of Clyde’s women’s team said: “All of the players in the ladies team have discussed the situation with the general manager/secretary and they are ALL in agreement that we no longer wish to play for Clyde FC. This will start with immediate effect.
“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.” The general manager of the team, David McGoldrick, also resigned.
In praising the group’s decision, McDermid said: “I think the world has changed in the last five years. The societal acceptance of violence against women has shifted quite considerably. And what would have been a very difficult thing for them to do before has become something that is more possible now.”
It led to the owner’s of Clyde’s Broadwood Stadium, North Lanarkshire council, banning Goodwillie from playing at the ground. A statement read: “We have informed the club that David Goodwillie must not be permitted access to the stadium, for any purpose, with immediate effect.
“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.”
The council added: “In re-signing Mr Goodwillie, Clyde FC has not acknowledged that background or community concerns, instead choosing to focus on enabling Mr Goodwillie to play football.”
Clyde, who play one division below Raith Rovers in League One, did not comment further than their 18-word statement.
