FC Sorrento have become the latest club to backtrack on signing former Scotland striker David Goodwillie in the wake of a public backlash.
The Australian second-tier side 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.
“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.”
After the news was not well-received on social media, however, Sorrento released another statement just hours later revealing they had cancelled Goodwillie’s contract.
“Sorrento Football Club has rescinded its contract with David Goodwillie,” it read.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.”
Sorrento are the third club in 18 months to have been forced into a climbdown over their efforts to sign Goodwillie.
Scottish side Raith Rovers sparked an outcry when they signed Goodwillie from Clyde in February last year and he was released from his contract without playing a match.
Then in February of this year, Northern Premier League side Radcliffe signed the former Dundee United and Blackburn forward and he scored a hat-trick on his debut against Belper Town.
However, having made no prior announcement of his signing, the angry response from the public prompted a change of heart from Radcliffe, who admitted to making “a significant misstep” in signing him and that “our due diligence should have been of a much higher standard”.
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 left English club Plymouth “by mutual consent” days after the civil court ruling and just two months later, in March 2017, he signed for Clyde despite fierce criticism of the Bully Wee’s decision to give him a deal.
A year later, in March 2018, Goodwillie was allowed to do a rare post-match interview in which he outlined his desire to return to full-time football.
“Of course I’ve got aspirations of going back up a level,” he said after scoring his 25th goal of his first season at the club in a League Two win away to Cowdenbeath.
“I want to play for as long as I can at whatever level I can.
“I need to be respectful to Clyde, though, because they believed in me and gave me a chance and I’ll always be thankful for that. I’ll give everything I can to Clyde for as long as I’m here.
“The way the fans and the chairman have been with me means a lot. I take that really deep.
“The fans have taken me in when they might not have, so I’m really thankful for that and appreciate it every single time I step out on the pitch for them.
“Ask any footballer and they’ll say they want to play at the highest level they can. I play football just to breathe and feel freedom. When you cross that line, you’ve got no worries, no stress.”
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level
Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.
Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.
The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.
Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.
"If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.
"I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.
"My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.
"To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.
"You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.
"Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.
"Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.
"Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."
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