Ex-Arsenal star hunted by police after failing to show at court for third time

Ex-Arsenal and Celtic striker Antony Stokes is wanted by police after he failed to appear in court for sentencing.

Stokes, 35, was expected at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Thursday for sentencing after he sent offensive messages to his ex-girlfriend Eilidh Scott and her father after he was previously handed a non-harassment order. But the Republic of Ireland international failed to show and his defence lawyer claimed he had ‘no explanation for his absence’.

The former footballer now has another warrant issued for his arrest as police begin to track him down. Stokes admitted to bombarding Miss Scott with a number of abusive messages in 2019 over the course of a seven-month period, where he called 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.

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Stokes was previously given a four-year non-harassment order against Ms Scott and her parents, but he fell in violation of the order multiple times as he continued to message his ex-girlfriend and her father George. He’s also said to have repeatedly phoned her mother.

According to the Daily Record, the court learned in a brief hearing on Thursday that Stokes had not shown up and he had also failed to engage with social workers who tried to create a background report. An arrest warrant was first issued in 2021 after he previously failed to appear for sentencing, eventually being arrested in Northern Ireland last year.

Sheriff Macfarlane said: "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." Stokes was previously branded a ‘flight risk’ by the Sheriff after he had flown to Glasgow from Dublin last month to hand himself in to police.

Stokes was born in Ireland but was snapped up by Arsenal’s academy as a teenager. Stokes featured for the club in the League Cup before joining Sunderland and enjoying the pomp of his career at Celtic.

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