Clyde terminate loan of rapist Goodwillie after council ban striker from stadium

David Goodwillie has had his loan deal with Clyde terminated just days after his return in a move from Raith Rovers was announced.

The Scottish League One side have released a statement confirming that they are "in the process of terminating the loan agreement" which was only signed on Tuesday and ran until the end of the season.

Clyde's decision comes after North Lanarkshire council, which owns Broadwood Stadium where they play their home games, announced that it was banning the 32-year-old from the ground.

Goodwillie was found by a judge in a 2017 civil case to have raped a woman but was controversially picked up by Raith during the January transfer window.

After backlash over the signing, the club apologised and confirmed that the former Scotland International would not play for them.

Similar scrutiny's followed Clyde's announcement - where the forward spent four years and was club captain before joining Raith - including their women's team quitting in protest.

"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," a statement read.

In 2011, the ex-Dundee United star was accused of raping a woman along with teammate David Robertson, leading to a civil case in which Goodwillie was ordered to pay £100,000 in compensation.

Following Goodwillie's latest move, a spokesperson for the North Lanarkshire council outlined: "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."

And late on Thursday, Clyde added: "The club are tonight in the process of terminating the loan agreement with Raith Rovers for David Goodwillie."

The situation leaves him unable to play for his parent club, Raith, who admitted that they "got it wrong" with Goodwillie's arrival in January.

Chairman John Sim said that he wanted to "apologise wholeheartedly" to fans, sponsors, players and the wider community "for the anguish and anger" it had caused.

"We got it wrong. In reaching our original decision, we focused far too much on football matters and not enough on what this decision would mean for our club and the community as a whole," Sim explained.

"As chairman, as a board and as a management team, we have all learned a hard but valuable lesson. This very unfortunate episode is something that we all bitterly regret and we are now wholly committed to making things right … we share a desire to do what is best for our club and will be doing everything in our power to regain the trust and confidence of the Raith Rovers family."