Former Scotland striker David Goodwillie was released by Radcliffe FC a day after scoring a hat-trick on his debut, with the non-League club admitting his signing was “a major misstep”.
He was named in the starting lineup, prompting an angry reaction on Twitter.
The seventh tier team said it was a “mistake that will never happen again.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the Northern Premier League side, based in Bury, Greater Manchester, said: “We can confirm that David Goodwillie has left the club.”
Goodwillie was found to be a rapist and ordered to pay damages in a Scottish civil case. He never faced a criminal trial for the rape charge after prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence.
The club said the move took place “very quickly” and could not be announced before the publication of the squad sheets, which they said was “regrettable” but “inevitable”.
They added: “From the board to the management team, who we supported and have always supported on game decisions, it’s clear that on the whole we got it wrong. The focus was wrong. placed and as a growing community club, we realize that our impacts are also more widely felt.”
Scottish side Raith Rovers caused an uproar when they signed Goodwillie in January 2022 and a return from loan to Clydewhere he played from 2017 to 2022 and had been captain, also collapsed.
The former Dundee United, Blackburn Rovers and Aberdeen striker was published by Raith without having played a game in September 2022, with the club admitting they “made a mistake” in signing him.
Radcliffe added: “As a club we have always been on second chances and have been involved in the rehabilitation of many players and staff along this journey; we have always given people a chance to improve their life and found support in this effort.
“When the club was presented with David Goodwillie the same logic was applied, but in this case it was clear that it was a material misstep and our due diligence should have been of a much higher standard.
“We can guarantee that everyone at the club involved in this signing did so out of a desire to do a good thing for an individual with an admittedly tainted past as we have done so successfully before, but it was a bridge too far.
“This decision happened very quickly, with clearance only being granted extremely late, leaving us in a position where our media volunteers were unable to release details before the sheets were produced. team – while unfortunate, it was also unavoidable.
“We have always strived to be a source of pride for our city with good and honest intentions, and we believe we have had a significant positive impact for our city over the past six years, both on the pitch and outside, and we sincerely apologize to everyone connected with the club and the community. This is a mistake that will never happen again.”
