RADCLIFFE FC have released David Goodwillie just HOURS after his debut for the club.
The disgraced striker fired a hat-trick for the Northern Premier League team last night – despite a signing shrouded in secrecy.
He appeared on the club team-sheet against Belper Town and helped his new side to a 4-2 win.
However his transfer had not been announced and appearance proved a nasty surprise for online critics.
Goodwillie was ruled to be a rapist in a civil court case in 2017.
He was ordered to pay £100,000 in damages by a judge over the incident in West Lothian six years earlier.
No criminal proceedings were brought, however a high-profile move to Raith Rovers last January brought widespread condemnation of the Fife side and he eventually had his contract ripped up in September last year – without playing a game for the club.
He turned out for non-league Livingston United late last year as a trialist.
Now, after ONE match for his new side he has been released.
A statement from Radcliffe read: “We can confirm that David Goodwillie has left the club.
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“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.
“From the board down to the management team, who we backed, and have always backed on playing decisions – it’s clear that as a whole we got this wrong. The focus was misplaced and as a growing Community Club we realise that our impacts are also more widely felt too.
“We have always strived to be a source of pride to our town with good and honest intentions, and we think we have made a significant positive impact for our town over the last six years both on and off the field and we sincerely apologise to everyone connected with the Club and the Community – this is a mistake that will never happen again.”
Goodwillie was at the centre of a signing storm when he joined Raith Rovers in January last year.
The player’s past prompted widespread uproar and led to sponsor Val McDermid withdrawing her support for her hometown club with a walk-out from the ladies section and supporters’ boycott.
He re-joined Clyde on loan until the end of the season but was BANNED from the club’s Broadwood home by landlords North Lanarkshire Council an that deal terminated four days in.
His Kirkcaldy contract was later ripped up in September without playing a game in his second spell with the club.
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He turned out for non-league Livingston United last November but his time as a trialist was as short-lived as his spell in English football’s NINTH tier.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
