OJ Simpson, the former American footballer who was controversially cleared of double murder, has died aged 76, his family says.

Orenthal James Simpson rose to fame as a college footballer before playing in the NFL.

In 1995, he was acquitted of the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and a friend in a trial that gripped America.

In 2008, he was sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment on charges of armed robbery but was released in 2017.

His family said Simpson died of cancer on Wednesday.