Raith Rovers have confirmed that David Goodwillie, the striker convicted of rape in a civil case five years ago, has been released from his contract with immediate effect. The club said it will make no further comment.
The 33-year-old was signed by the Scottish Championship side just before the close of January's transfer window only to face severe backlash because he was found guilty of rape in a civil case in 2017.
Goodwillie and fellow footballer David Robertson were both accused of the rape in 2011 but they never faced a criminal trial because prosecutors said there was not enough evidence.
In the first civil case of its kind in Scotland in 2017, a judge ruled both Goodwillie and Robertson were guilty and ordered them to pay £100,000 damages. 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.
Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon called on Raith to recognise their importance in the community after signing Goodwillie in January but it took a fortnight for the club to issue a grovelling apology after signing the striker from Clyde.
The club's main sponsor Val McDermid, a renowned author whose name had been on the front of the club's shirts since 2014, announced that she was withdrawing her support because of Goodwillie's signing.
Several campaign groups also weighed in, leading to Raith eventually apologising for a "wrong decision" and "the damage that has been caused."
Goodwillie did not make a single appearance for the club, with his last game coming for Clyde on January 29. He had turned out for Clyde since March 2017, making more than 130 appearances and scoring 92 goals.
He previously played for Raith as a loanee in 2017.
Raith's February statement read: "The board of directors and CEO, having reflected further on what we have already acknowledged was a wrong decision around a deadline day transfer, would like to provide our supporters, volunteers and the wider community connected to the club with an update.
"In doing so, we ask that everyone takes cognisance of the fact that a number of legal and financial issues are still being discussed with concerned parties, and as such we are restricted to the extent of information we can share at this time.
"The past two weeks have been an awful period in the club’s long and proud history, and once again we want to say sorry for the damage that has been caused and to those affected in any way by the issues raised."
