Radcliffe FC have axed striker David Goodwillie - less than 24 hours after he scored a hat-trick on his debut for the club.
The 33-year-old former Blackburn Rovers striker made his first appearance for the Northern Premier League side in their fixture against Belper Town on Tuesday evening, despite no announcement of him having signed for the club. He went on to score three times in the second half in a 4-2 win for Radcliffe, who extended their unbeaten league run to six matches.
It had been reported by Sky Sports News reports that Goodwillie had signed a short-term contract with Radcliffe. But comments under their match updates on Tuesday night showed a negative reaction from the club’s fans to Goodwillie’s arrival.
Goodwillie was ruled to be a rapist in a civil case in 2017 and ordered to pay £100,000 in damages by a judge. No criminal proceedings were brought against Goodwillie and fellow footballer David Robertson, but, in the first civil case of its kind in Scotland, it was ruled he raped a woman in a flat in West Lothian in 2011.
A Radcliffe statement on Wednesday morning declared: “We can confirm that David Goodwillie has left the club.
“As a club we have always been about second chances and have been a part of many players and staff members rehabilitation along that journey, we've always given people a chance to improve their life and found support in this endeavour.
“When the club were presented with David Goodwillie that same logic was applied, but in this case it's clear that was a significant misstep and our due diligence should have been of a much higher standard. We can vouch for all the people at the Club involved in this signing did so out of the desire to do a good thing for an individual with an admittedly tainted past as we have done so successfully before but this was a bridge too far.
“This move came about very quickly, with clearance only granted extremely late leaving us in a position where our media volunteers were unable to release details prior to team sheets being produced - while regrettable this was also unavoidable.”
The 33-year-old was released by Raith Rovers in September following a high-profile backlash against his employment at the club. The Scottish club saw board members resign, sponsors pull out and heavy criticism from fans, Rape Crisis Scotland and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Goodwillie played one game on trial for Livingston United in November before being released again.
After being accused of rape in 2011, Goodwillie was not prosecuted because prosecutors said there was not enough evidence. However, there was a different outcome in a subsequent civil case six years later.
In civil proceedings, the burden of proof is on the balance of probabilities as opposed to criminal proceedings where it has to be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
