A Swedish Hockey League team is cutting ties with one of the five former Hockey Canada players acquitted of sexual assault charges in a high-profile trial last summer.
Farjestad BK announced on Thursday that it would not proceed with signing defenceman Cal Foote, two days after first announcing that Foote would be joining the team on a one-year deal.
In a statement released in Swedish and translated by Sportsnet using Google tools, Farjestad said it was aware that signing Foote would come with scrutiny but added that"developments in recent days have made it clear that the situation has reached a scale that affects people in and around our club in a way that we cannot possibly ignore.
Foote, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Dillon Dube were all acquitted of sexual assault charges in London, Ont., last summer after an incident in the city in 2018 while the players were celebrating winning a gold medal for Canada at the world juniors.
All five players were reinstated by the NHL and allowed to return to the league as of Dec. 1. Foote played last season with the AHL's Chicago Wolves.