Blackburn Rovers striker fined £200,000 for headbutting Elvis impersonator
Anthony Stokes launched a 'nasty, cowardly attack' in a bar
Last updated 17th Feb 2017
Footballer Anthony Stokes has been ordered to pay an Elvis impersonator 230,000 euro for headbutting him in a nightclub.
The Blackburn Rovers striker had already agreed to give his victim 30,000 euro for breaking his nose and two of his teeth and faces the second payout after being sued in the High Court in Dublin.
Former car park attendant Anthony Bradley, 53, was attacked by Stokes in the VIP section of what was then Buck Whaleys nightclub on Leeson Street in Dublin on June 8 2013.
Stokes, who is awaiting the birth of a third child, did not attend the hearing and had no lawyers in court.
"A nasty, cowardly attack"
The footballer, who has six Scottish league title medals with Glasgow Celtic and nine Republic of Ireland caps, was hit with a two-year suspended sentence earlier this month after admitting the assault.
He was ordered to pay Mr Bradley 150,000 euro in general damages, 50,000 euro in aggravated damages and 32,000 euro for medical expenses, his solicitor Joseph Burke confirmed.
Mr Bradley has indicated that he is pleased with the outcome and that he simply wishes to get on with his life,'' the lawyer said.
The damages award by a jury in the High Court in Dublin is enforceable in Britain.
During the hearing, Mr Bradley told the court he has not received an apology from Stokes over the incident, although lawyers for the footballer apologised on his behalf during the sentencing hearing at the start of February.
The assault occurred in Buck Whaleys nightclub, where Stokes had been on a night out with friends.
Mr Bradley, who had arrived at the club two hours earlier and had drunk one pint of beer while there, twice had drink spilt on him by a man before he was headbutted by Stokes.
"If someone put it up to me, I'm going to nut him."
The footballer was escorted from the premises following the incident and his sentencing heard he had told an employee: If someone puts it up to me, I'm going to nut him.''
Mr Bradley was headbutted across the bridge of his nose and suffered a deviated septum and two broken front teeth in what was described as a nasty, cowardly attack''.
His medical bills have cost 13,500 euro over the past three-and-a-half years.
Mr Bradley was away from his job as a car park attendant in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin for eight months following the incident and subsequently stopped working as he suffered physical and psychological effects.
He has also been diagnosed with a degenerative spinal condition since the assault, which causes pain across his neck and shoulders.
Stokes left Ireland aged 15 to join the Arsenal youth academy and moved to Falkirk aged 17 before going on to Hibernian FC, Celtic and Blackburn.