Scottish club to end loan for footballer ruled to have raped a woman

Scottish football club Clyde have announced they are ending the contract of former Scotland striker David Goodwillie, found by a civil court to have raped a woman, just days after agreeing a loan deal.

The Scottish League One side released a statement late on Thursday saying they were “in the process of terminating the loan agreement” for the player.

It followed a decision by North Lanarkshire Council, which owns Broadwood Stadium, where Clyde play their home games, to ban the footballer from the ground.

Clyde only confirmed on Tuesday that they had re-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.

Goodwillie’s move from Clyde to Championship side Raith at the end of January sparked outrage, with Raith 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 but the council then announced it was banning him from entering the ground.

Third-tier Clyde’s re-signing of Goodwillie also prompted its entire women’s team to quit in protest.

The club said in their statement: “The club are tonight (Thursday) in the process of terminating the loan agreement with Raith Rovers for David Goodwillie.”