1. Anthony Christopher Stokes was born on 25 July 1988 and is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
68 Facts About Anthony Stokes
1. 2.
Anthony Stokes began his senior career with Arsenal, and established himself with a successful loan spell with Falkirk in 2006, scoring 14 goals in 16 SPL games.
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Anthony Stokes played regularly for Celtic under the management of Neil Lennon and enjoyed success, but fell out of favour under Ronny Deila.
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Anthony Stokes then had short spells with Greek club Apollon Smyrni, Iranian clubs Tractor and Persepolis, and Turkish club Adana Demirspor, before returning to Scotland with Livingston in 2020.
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Anthony Stokes represented the Republic of Ireland at under-21 level, and played in nine full internationals for the senior team between 2007 and 2014.
6.
Anthony Stokes trained with Sunderland with a view to a loan move in July 2006, but Sunderland manager Niall Quinn decided against it due to Sunderland's large squad depth and lack of a reserve team.
7.
Anthony Stokes then scored another hat-trick in the following match against Dunfermline Athletic, which meant that he had scored nine goals in just four games.
8.
Celtic and Charlton Athletic had been interested in the player, but Anthony Stokes revealed that he was greatly influenced by Sunderland manager and former Irish international, Roy Keane, in making his ultimate decision.
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Anthony Stokes was originally handed the 26 shirt at Sunderland, but after the departure of Jon Stead to Sheffield United he was given the number 9 shirt.
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Anthony Stokes made his Sunderland debut a few days later, and crossed to set up David Connolly to give Sunderland a one-goal win over Ipswich.
11.
Anthony Stokes scored his first goal for Sunderland on 10 February 2007 against Plymouth Argyle, scoring from 20 yards after coming on as a substitute.
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Anthony Stokes was barred from The Glass Spider nightclub in Sunderland, after Keane blamed it for distracting Anthony Stokes from his training.
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Anthony Stokes then scored his first Premier League goal; a last-minute winner against Derby County that took Sunderland out of the relegation zone.
14.
On 23 September 2008, Anthony Stokes scored two late goals to level a League Cup tie against Northampton Town.
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On 17 October 2008, Anthony Stokes agreed a three-month loan deal to Sheffield United, with the possibility of extending it for the season.
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Anthony Stokes again took the shirt that was previously vacated by Jon Stead, this time number 8.
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Anthony Stokes made his debut for the Blades in the local derby against Sheffield Wednesday a few days later, coming on as a second-half substitute.
18.
Anthony Stokes started his time at Bramall Lane as a first team regular but was dropped to the bench and returned to Sunderland having made 12 appearances but failed to score a goal.
19.
In March 2009, Anthony Stokes joined Crystal Palace on loan, scoring from a solo effort after his first start against Preston North End.
20.
Anthony Stokes made his Hibs debut against his former club Falkirk, and then credited Hughes as the main reason he decided to sign for Hibs.
21.
On 27 December 2009, Anthony Stokes scored the fastest goal in Scottish Premier League history, after just 12.4 seconds against Rangers.
22.
Anthony Stokes's good run of form was rewarded with the SPL young player of the month award for December 2009.
23.
Anthony Stokes won the goal of the season award from the SPL for a goal against Rangers in November 2009.
24.
At the start of the following season, Anthony Stokes acknowledged the need to improve other aspects of his play.
25.
Anthony Stokes was then linked with a move to Celtic, with their manager Neil Lennon commenting that Stokes was "a player we like".
26.
On 31 August 2010, Anthony Stokes signed a four-year contract with Celtic.
27.
Anthony Stokes went down in the box after a challenge late in the match.
28.
Anthony Stokes then picked up an injury which kept him out of action for five months until January 2013, when he returned as a sub in a league game against Dundee United.
29.
In December 2012, Anthony Stokes was disciplined by Celtic after he had attended a benefit event for Alan Ryan, a deceased member of the Real Irish Republican Army.
30.
Anthony Stokes provided both assists for Gary Hooper's two goals in the first half of the 2013 Scottish Cup final, against former club Hibs.
31.
Anthony Stokes scored his 50th goal for Celtic with a late free kick to beat Dundee United on 31 August 2013; Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara complained afterwards that Anthony Stokes had moved the ball back from its correct position to make it easier for him to strike it over the wall.
32.
Anthony Stokes had a relatively poor season up that point.
33.
However over the course of the season Anthony Stokes scored fewer goals than in previous seasons, mainly due to new manager Ronny Deila fielding him in a wide left role as opposed to his more recognised position as a striker.
34.
However, Anthony Stokes was sent off later in the same game for elbowing United's Paul Paton.
35.
The transfer window in January 2016 saw Anthony Stokes linked with loan moves to Hibernian and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, having not taken part in a first team game since 22 August 2015.
36.
On 15 January 2016, it was reported that Anthony Stokes had agreed to join Hibernian on loan for the rest of the season.
37.
On 17 June 2016, Anthony Stokes signed for Blackburn Rovers on a three-year deal.
38.
In July 2017, Blackburn and Anthony Stokes agreed to terminate their contract.
39.
Anthony Stokes signed a two-year contract with Hibernian in August 2017.
40.
Anthony Stokes scored a double in his first start for the club against Ayr United in the Scottish League Cup on 8 August 2017.
41.
Anthony Stokes scored 11 goals in 21 games during his third spell with Hibs, but he was dropped from the first team squad in January 2018 for breaching team disciplinary rules.
42.
On 7 February 2018, days before the end of the Greek transfer window for unattached players, Anthony Stokes signed with Super League side Apollon Smyrni, on an 18-month deal.
43.
On 25 October 2018, having scored ten goals in nine games, Anthony Stokes extended his contract with Tractor until 20 June 2022.
44.
In November 2018, Anthony Stokes returned to Ireland with the permission of his coaching staff after a match against Zob Ahan.
45.
Anthony Stokes did return later in the month, but then a week before the mid-season break he left again for Dublin for the same personal reasons, and was not expected to come back.
46.
On 16 July 2019, Anthony Stokes signed for TFF First League club Adana Demirspor on a two-year contract, with the option of a third.
47.
On 25 January 2020, Anthony Stokes signed a six-month contract with Persian Gulf Pro League champions Persepolis.
48.
Anthony Stokes chose number 10, but according to the rules, a number in a competition belongs to only one person, and as Farshad Ahmadzadeh wore number 10 in the Persian Gulf Pro League and in the Iranian Hazfi Cup, Anthony Stokes chose number 32 until the end of the season, and number 10 from the beginning of the 2020 AFC Champions League.
49.
On 4 March 2020, Anthony Stokes' agent negotiated with Persepolis' president.
50.
Anthony Stokes stated that due to the restrictions on air travel, he was not able to return to Iran.
51.
Anthony Stokes announced that he would return to Persepolis after the situation improved.
52.
On 22 August 2020, Anthony Stokes signed a one-year deal with Scottish Premiership club Livingston.
53.
Anthony Stokes played for the Republic of Ireland at youth international levels, earning promotion to the under-21 team in August 2006.
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Anthony Stokes earned three full caps in 2007, but was not selected during 2008 or 2009, as he fell out of favour at Sunderland.
55.
Anthony Stokes scored the only goal of the game in a practice match against an Ireland under-23 side.
56.
In May 2011, Anthony Stokes withdrew from the Ireland squad for the 2011 Nations Cup due to tiredness.
57.
In February 2012, Anthony Stokes said that he felt it was unlikely he would be picked for Ireland's squad for UEFA Euro 2012, despite good form for Celtic, as he thought Trapattoni was holding his 2011 withdrawal against him.
58.
Anthony Stokes was re-called to the Ireland squad in October 2013 following the departure of Trapattoni, by interim manager Noel King.
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Anthony Stokes won a further two caps during November 2013 in friendly internationals against Latvia and Poland.
60.
At the trial, Anthony Stokes pleaded guilty to assault, and was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years.
61.
In September 2019, Anthony Stokes pleaded guilty to stalking his ex-girlfriend and her mother at Hamilton Sheriff Court in Scotland.
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Anthony Stokes received an eight-month deferred sentence and was prohibited from contacting either woman for four years, apart from to arrange the custody of his two-year-old son.
63.
Anthony Stokes breached his restraining orders relating to both victims in November and December 2019.
64.
Anthony Stokes missed his sentencing in August 2022 due to contracting COVID-19 and did not attend the rescheduled hearing the following month, leading to an arrest warrant being issued by the sheriff.
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In September 2023, Anthony Stokes voluntarily travelled to Glasgow to hand himself in to the police for his sentencing.
66.
In March 2024, Anthony Stokes was jailed for five months for his offences, banned from contacting his victim for five years and her parents for one year.
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Anthony Stokes was held in HM Prison Addiewell in West Lothian.
68.
On 8 October 2024, Anthony Stokes was sentenced to fifteen months in prison for drug and driving offences, and was banned from driving for five years, but he was released within hours in order to appeal the severity of his sentence.