David Goodwillie saga sees Clyde turfed out of Broadwood next year

The 32-year-old striker, who in 2017 was ordered to pay £100,000 in damages after a civil court case found he had raped a woman six years earlier, had been signed to move from Clyde to Raith.

Both clubs have seen enormous backlash over the move, with Raith saying Goodwillie could not play for them due to public outcry and loaning him back to Clyde.

Clyde’s re-signing last Monday drew immediate condemnation from the First Minister and promped Clyde’s ladies team to quit last Thursday.

And hours later, North Lanarkshire Council had dropped a bombshell at Broadwood – which revolved around a new contract which controls their lease of the stadium to Clyde.

This stated that Mr Goodwillie should not be permitted access to the stadium and if this was breached, Clyde’s contract would be immediately terminated.

The club was also told that the council “did not intend to renew” its lease with the club when the contract for the use of Broadwood stadium expired in May 2023.

A council spokesman also provided some clarification on accusations that the authority had been sitting on its hands when Mr Goodwillie played for the club.

She said: “We also note that some people have questioned why the council is only taking action now given that Mr Goodwillie has played for Clyde for a number of years. For clarity, the stadium was previously under the control of North Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd which, while previously paid by the council for management of a range of services and facilities, is a separate legal entity. The council was unable to direct the company. The stadium, and all the services of the company, have reverted to direct council control.”

Hours after the statement was released, the club broke a months-long silence on the matter with the release of a Tweet stating: “The club is in the process of terminating the loan with Raith Rovers over David Goodwillie.”