David Goodwillie finds new club after Raith Rovers' U-turn on rapist footballer

Raith Rovers have sanctioned the temporary departure of rapist David Goodwillie just over one month after they originally signed the 32-year-old forward from Clyde

David Goodwillie has re-joined Scottish League One outfit Clyde on loan for the remainder of the season after the recent U-turn from parent club Raith Rovers.

The 32-year-old forward was found to have raped a woman by a judge in a civil case back in 2017.

Goodwillie had originally joined Raith from Clyde on a permanent deal at the back end of the January transfer window.

Following that switch, many high profile figures associated with Raith such as directors and sponsors withdrew their support and two boardroom members walked away from the club.

As a result, Raith swiftly backtracked on their original decision and publicly confirmed Goodwillie would not play for them despite the fact he penned a two-and-half-year deal.

"I firstly want to apologise wholeheartedly to our fans, sponsors, players and the wider Raith Rovers community for the anguish and anger caused over the past few days," read a statement from the club's chairman John Sim last month.

"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.

He returns to a club he once captained and scored 109 goals for over the course of a five-year stint.

There is every chance Goodwillie features as soon as this Saturday when Clyde welcome Falkirk to the Broadwood Leisure Centre.

Clyde have since announced the striker will play for them until the end of the current campaign.

A club statement from Clyde read: "Following an initial approach by Raith Rovers, and subsequent agreement between the two clubs, we can confirm that David Goodwillie has returned to Broadwood on loan until the end of the 2021-22 season.

"This enables David to return to first-team activities including training and playing and, in doing so, continue his career in football."

Raith also updated their fans with a statement confirming the switch that read: "The club can confirm that we have agreed terms with Clyde FC for a loan arrangement for David Goodwillie until the end of the current season. We would like to thank Clyde FC for their co-operation."