Ex-Celtic footballer guilty of stalking girlfriend
Striker Stokes sent up to 100 messages a day
‘He was angry and agitated’
‘Her stomach was churning’
FORMER Celtic star Anthony Stokes yesterday admitted carrying out a stalking campaign against his girlfriend.
The 31-year-old striker bombarded Eilidh Scott with up to 100 abusive messages a day.
He called her a ‘slut’ and a ‘whore’ and turned up at her home in Shotts, Lanarkshire, late at night. Stokes also demanded to know her wherespoke abouts and pestered her mother, May Scott.
At Hamilton Sheriff Court, Stokes, who has a two-year-old son with Miss Scott, admitted stalking her and her mother between July last year and February this year.
Prosecutor Lynn McFauld said: ‘In July, she attended a girls’ night in and received numerous calls, texts, WhatsApp and Facetime messages from the accused but declined to answer them.
‘She eventually accepted a Facetime message, hoping if she to him he would desist and let her enjoy her night. He immediately demanded to know where she was and who she was with and was clearly angry and agitated.
‘She turned her phone round the room to let him see her friends and later advised she would speak to him the next day, but he continued to try to make contact.’
Stokes arrived at May Scott’s home later that evening. Miss McFauld said: ‘She received a call from her mother, saying she had observed the accused going past the house.
‘She was advised he had attended at the side door and was chapping the door and shouting through the letter box – but she refused to answer and observed him sitting outside facing the family home.
‘At 1am, the complainer’s friend’s boyfriend arrived back to take her home. She advised him to drive her to her front door so she could get in and then she and her mother locked and secured the door.
‘The friend reversed out and observed a door of a vehicle opening, which caused him to stop. The accused got out and asked, “What is that all about?”. He rattled the window with his fist, demanding to know where the complainer had been. The witness was scared as to what might happen next and drove off. But as he did the accused kicked the vehicle.
‘The complainer said her stomach was churning as he approached the house before calling her a slag, a slut, a whore and demanded she open the door.
‘She later sent a message saying, “You are stalking me, leave me alone,” and later received an email from the accused saying, “Sorry for my reaction tonight, I just love you too much and snapped tonight”.’
Michael Gallen, defending, said: ‘He is embarrassed the way he has behaved to the mother of his child. He has apologised and they are both keen to put this behind them.’
Sheriff Alasdair MacFadyen deferred sentence until September for reports and continued bail.
He told Stokes: ‘You engaged in a course of conduct that caused fear and alarm to your former partner and her mother.
‘It is not an isolated incident but a course of conduct. I’m told that you and the woman have reconciled but have also been told it is on-off.
‘I want to have inquiries made to see if there could be some intervention put in place to stop you behaving this way again.’
Stokes won seven trophies at Celtic between 2010 and 2016 and now plays for Turkish side Adana.