Sunderland have terminated Adam Johnson's contract after the former England international pleaded guilty to charges of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl.
The 28-year-old winger's case is due to continue at Bradford Crown Court on Friday, two days after he admitted one charge of grooming and another of sexual activity with the teenager but denied two further counts of sexual activity with a child.
Earlier on Thursday Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce said Johnson's case was off limits, though he confirmed that the player wouldn't be part of his squad to face Manchester United on Friday.
However, later in the day the club issued a short statement saying that the former Manchester City man's contract had been terminated.
"In light of Adam Johnson's guilty please, the club has today terminated his contract with immediate effect. The club will make no further comment," read the statement.
Johnson was originally suspended by the Black Cats after his arrest, but returned to the first team squad shortly afterwards.
He made 20 appearances for the Stadium of Light club this season and scored last Saturday in their two-all draw with Liverpool at Anfield.
Also on Thursday, Adidas terminated his boot contract after he admitted in court that he kissed a 15-year-old girl after grooming her over the internet.
Allardyce (above), who has been laid low all week by the virus which kept Fabio Borini out of the Liverpool game, has also seen his squad hit by a rash of injuries.
Defender Younes Kaboul and striker Duncan Watmore have both suffered ankle ligament damage, full-back Billy Jones is struggling to shake off a hip problem and midfielder Jeremain Lens is awaiting diagnosis of a suspected hernia.
Allardyce said: "We have got Jeremain Lens, who looks like maybe - we are not absolutely certain - but looks like it may be a hernia. I think we can get that repaired and get him back on the field relatively quickly.
"Duncan looks longer-term with ankle ligaments; Younes Kaboul was fully fit last week and unfortunately turned his ankle on the Friday and he's out for a couple of weeks."
Allardyce said former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue, who has been training with the cub in recent days, could yet win a short-term deal.
He said: "Obviously, he's not played for a long time and if he has got any sort of quality left that he had and showed at Arsenal, then he may later down the line be able to secure a short-term contract with us."
