05 October 2023 , 15:20
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Ex-Arsenal and Celtic striker Anthony Stokes is wanted by police after he failed to appear in court for a third time.
Stokes, 35, was expected at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Thursday for sentencing for sending offensive messages to his ex-girlfriend and her father. But he was nowhere to be seen and his defence lawyer confirmed he has 'no explanation for his absence' with another warrant now issued for his arrrest.
Stokes admitted to bombarding Eilidh Scott with a string of abusive messages in 2019 in a seven-month campaign, calling her a 's**t', and a 'w***e'. He also turned up at her home late at night and demanded to know where she was.
The former footballer was given a four-year non-harassment order against Scott and her parents but continued to message Miss Scott and her father George. He is also said to have repeatedly phoned Miss Scott's mother.
An arrest warrant was first issued in 2021 after he failed to appear for sentencing before Stokes was finally arrested in Northern Ireland last year. But after being granted bail, he again did not turn up to court.
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That led to another warrant being issued for Stokes' arrest and he flew to Glasgow last month to hand himself into police. Stokes was again bailed despite Sheriff Ross Macfarlane KC branding him a 'flight risk'.
But in a brief hearing on Thursday, the court was told that the ex-Republic of Ireland striker had not shown up and also failed to engage with social workers who has tried to create a background report, reports the Daily Record.
Sheriff Macfarlane replied: "He didn't attend the appointment for the social work report and is not here today therefore a warrant will be granted for his arrest."
Anthony Stokes played just under 200 games for Celtic (Getty Images)Stokes was born in Ireland but joined Arsenal's academy as a teenager, making his first-team debut in a League Cup match. He later moved to Sunderland before the most prolific spell of his career with Celtic.
He won four league titles with the Scottish giants and had spells with Hibernian, Blackburn and Livingston. Stokes also won nine caps for Republic of Ireland.