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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

David Goodwillie returns to football without public announcement

David Goodwillie is back in football

The striker has signed for Radcliffe FC in the English lower leagues and made his debut for the club last night.

However, the seventh tier side didn't acknowledge the striker joining them until he scored in their 4-2 win over Belper Town on Tuesday.

Goodwillie netted a hat-trick as he made a return to the pitch for, one of the first known times, in around a year. 

The 33-year-old joined Raith Rovers from Clyde in January 2022, however, was released by the Kirkcaldy club without playing a game. 

The controversial signing caused uproar among the Starks Park faithful and beyond. 

Goodwillie was ruled a rapist by a civil court in 2017.

As a result of joining Raith, the Rovers women's team cut all ties with the club in protest. Major club sponsor and long-term supporter Val McDermid also pulled her backing.

Rape Crisis Scotland and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon were also among an extensive list of critics.

After initially doubling down on the signing in a lengthy statement, the Championship side later issued an apology to furious fans and promised he wouldn't pull on their jersey.

The former Dundee United, Aberdeen and Blackburn player was loaned by to Clyde. Again, this caused more anger. Clyde were warned that Goodwillie was banned from Broadwood Stadium by North Lanarkshire council, with the League One club essentially then told to find a new lease for a home ground last summer.

He was eventually released from his contract by Raith on September 30 last year.

Sky Sports report that Goodwillie has now signed a short-term deal with Radcliffe.

But his debut for the club came without any prior acknowledgement of his signing. He isn't listed as a Radcliffe player on their website.

They named Goodwillie as a goalscorer several times on Twitter last night, however, they are yet to publicly comment on his arrival.

At The Herald and Times we know the importance of reaching you where it's convenient, which is why we've engaged top sportswriter James Morgan to bring you an irreverent daily update on what's happening in the world of sport. Be it football, golf, rugby, cricket or something more exotic, James will tread where the best stories take him. To get this bespoke piece sent directly to your email inbox for free every day at 5pm, simply take 5 seconds to type in your email here. It's that simple!

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