David Goodwillie vows to ‘speak my truth’ after third club cancel contract following fans backlash

Australian second-tier side FC Sorrento announced on Wednesday that they had recruited the 34-year-old.

Former Scotland striker David Goodwillie has vowed to “finally speak my truth” after his latest attempt to return to football was kiboshed following another public backlash.

Australian second-tier side FC Sorrento announced on Wednesday that they had recruited the 34-year-old, who was ruled by a judge at a civil court case in 2017 to have raped a woman in 2011.

After the news of Goodwillie’s impending arrival was not well-received on social media, however, the Perth-based club released another statement just hours later revealing they had cancelled the former Dundee United, Blackburn, Aberdeen and Plymouth player’s contract.

It is his third deal in 18 months to collapse after moves to Scottish Championship side Raith and English non-league outfit Radcliffe were also quashed following ferocious criticism of their decision to sign him.

Goodwillie subsequently opened a Twitter account and shared a post on Wednesday afternoon in which he declared that he owes it to his wife and children to speak out in the face of “misinformation” about his situation.

“Due to recent events, I feel it’s only right to myself, and finally speak my truth,” it read.

“For the past year I have actively tried to speak with the tabloids/news/interviewers anyone that would listen and had the same outcome, they weren’t willing to give me a platform to tell my side, I was told they would come across hypocritical.

“I’m going to take the next few days and write everything down and share it with whoever wants to hear what I have to say.

“I owe it to my wife and children, a lot has been said that is misinformation, I have been silenced for long enough, there will nothing off the table, and after that if anyone has any questions on what I have to say, I will try and answer them all in time.”

Goodwillie and fellow footballer David Robertson were deemed by a judge at a civil court in January 2017 to have raped a 30-year-old woman at a property in Armadale, West Lothian, after a night out in nearby Bathgate in January 2011.

Criminal charges against Goodwillie were dropped in 2011 due to lack of evidence.

Goodwillie was playing for English club Plymouth at the time of the civil court judgement and left “by mutual consent” just days after the ruling.

Two months later, in March 2017, he signed for Clyde despite fierce criticism of the Bully Wee’s decision to give him a deal.

He played for the Cumbernauld-based club for almost five years, becoming club captain and scoring 109 goals in more than 170 appearances, before Raith moved to sign him in February last year. Following widespread opposition to the move, Goodwillie was released from his contract without playing a match.

A year later, there was a similar situation when Northern Premier League side Radcliffe responded to criticism by cancelling Goodwillie’s contract a day after he scored a hat-trick on his debut against Belper Town.

And now Sorrento have followed suit. On Wednesday morning, they revealed the signing of the Scottish forward along with two other new recruits.

“SFC are pleased to announce we have added three players to our mid season first team. Clay Gibbs, David Goodwillie & Callum Dobbs have all joined!” read the initial statement from the Perth-based club.

Sorrento head coach Steven McGarry, who played in Scotland when Goodwillie was beginning his career more than a decade ago, added: “With David, we get a player with real quality and experience.

“He’s played in the top leagues in England and Scotland while also representing Scotland at international level so he’s a massive addition to the club.”

But just hours later, Sorrento deleted their initial post and released another statement.

“Sorrento Football Club has rescinded its contract with David Goodwillie,” it read. “David was scheduled to arrive in Perth within the next week to commence playing with the Club for the remainder of the 2023 NPLM season.

“The arrangement was non-commercial in nature. The Club has informed David of its decision and apologises to anyone in our football and broader community that may have been caused offence by his signing.”