Anthony Stokes ‘has not paid over €30,000’ for nightclub attack

Irish soccer player Anthony Stokes has not paid over the €30,000 he was due to give to a man he headbutted in the VIP lounge of a Dublin nightclub, a court has heard.

Last February, Stokes received a two-year suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to assault causing harm to Anthony Bradley (53) at Buck Whaleys on Leeson Street, Dublin, on June 8th, 2013.

Stokes currently plays for Blackburn Rovers and has nine international caps with the Republic of Ireland team.

In imposing her sentence, Judge Patricia Ryan had noted that the €30,000 was being handed over by Stokes to the injured party as a "practical expression of remorse".

The court was told that at that time there were separate civil proceedings ongoing at the High Court in relation to the incident.

The judge said the €30,000 had been offered by Stokes and was not a condition of the suspended sentence.

She noted he had expressed remorse following the offence and in court.

At the February hearing, the defence counsel told the judge that Stokes had made arrangements for the money to be transferred in the UK.

He asked the court for two weeks to sort out the payment.

The judge said that if there was any problem with the money the matter could be re-entered before the court.

On Thursday, Diarmuid Collins BL, prosecuting, told Ms Justice Ryan he was asking the court to consider revisiting the sentence.

He submitted that the court had given liberty to re-enter the case if there were difficulties with the payment of the money. He said the €30,000 had not been paid.

The judge said that at the time she had given liberty to re-enter the case in order to facilitate the transfer of the money.

But she told Mr Collins: “I don’t do compensation, you cannot buy yourself out of trouble.”

The judge noted that there was a facility for the Circuit Court to make compensation orders, but she did not do that.

“Compensation is a matter for the civil courts,” she said.

She made “no order” in the case.

‘Exchange of words’

At the February hearing, the court heard that Mr Bradley had had an exchange of words with a man in Stokes’s company, because this man was unsteady on his feet and spilling his drink.

The conversation was not considered aggressive by other witnesses.

The victim said later that Stokes then “arrived out of nowhere”.

He said he tried to tell the soccer player that everything was “okay” before Stokes headbutted him on the bridge of his nose.

Mr Bradley was bleeding so badly that his friend, who was standing with him, was covered in blood.

He was later treated for a fractured nose and two broken teeth.

Det Des Rogers told the court that as Stokes was being removed from the nightclub he was heard saying: “What did I do? I didn’t start it. If someone puts it up to me I am going to nut them.”