Dunfermline have released Lithuania internationalist Vytas Gaspuitis following 11 months at East End Park.
Gaspuitis, 27, made 20 appearances for the Pars and won plenty of admirers with his no-nonsense style.
However, the Fife club acknowledged that he found it difficult to settle in Scotland during the Covid-19 pandemic.
And that culminated in the nine-times capped centre-half requesting that his contract be annulled with immediate effect.
Gaspuitis’ deal was due to run until the summer of 2023,
A Dunfermline spokesperson confirmed: “At the request of the player, we have agreed to cancel the contract of Vytas Gaspuitis, to allow him to return home to Lithuania.
“Moving to a strange country in a global pandemic would be difficult for anyone, but Vytas has been an outstanding professional who has shown great resilience and humility at all times.
“We wish Vytas and his family every success in the future.”
One in, one out
Gaspuitis’ departure followed the Pars’ capture of Ross County defender Coll Donaldson on loan.
Dunfermline also confirmed that Lewis Martin has penned a short-term contract until the end of the season, as revealed by manager John Hughes at the weekend.
The luckless defender was a shock inclusion among the Dunfermline substitutes for Sunday’s Fife derby against Raith Rovers, having not played a competitive match since March 2020.
Martin’s new deal is ‘incentive-based’, according to Hughes.
