David Goodwillie will not play for Raith Rovers again after the club apologised for his controversial signing.
Raith's decision to re-sign 32-year-old Goodwillie - who was ruled to be a rapist in a civil court case in 2017 although no criminal proceedings were instructed - had generated widespread criticism.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called on the Scottish Professional Football League to take action, the club's main sponsor, author Val McDermid - whose name is on the club's shirts and one of its stands - withdrew her support and an online petition was set up calling for Goodwillie to be removed.
Raith released a statement on Tuesday defending the decision to sign Goodwillie, but on Thursday new chairman John Sim admitted "the club got it wrong".
A statement from Sim on behalf of the board said: "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.
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.
"Over the past couple of days, we listened carefully to the fans who have got in touch and I'm very grateful for their honesty. As chairman, as a board and as a management team, we have all learned a hard but valuable lesson.
