This puts his current situation with Celtic in perspective.
Anthony Stokes has revealed the details of a series of death threats he received through Twitter.
Online abuse pretty much comes with the territory of being a professional football with a social media presence. However Stokes told The Sunday Post that there was something about these particular threats that made him take them serious, and take action.
“There was a stage where I got four or five threats that I felt I had no option but to speak to the club’s security guys, who reported it to the police,” the 27 year old, Republic of Ireland international said.
“An anonymous Twitter account was set up and sent me messages saying I was going to be shot dead as soon as I got back to Dublin. They came in over a period of 10, 15 minutes and there was something in it that revealed personal knowledge.
That was the worst. I don’t know what was behind it. Maybe Dublin was to show they knew where to get me. Whatever, it wasn’t just an idiot with a keyboard. There’s nothing really I can do but try and get on with it. I’m certainly not going to accept it.”
Stokes has been frozen out of the first-team picture at Celtic, with manager Ronny Delia telling the striker at the start of the season he was not in his plans.
The tension between the pair boiled over when Stokes vented his frustration on Twitter after being omitted from the Celtic squad for a trip to Inverness, and was forced to watch the game in the stands. The club subsequently banned the player from the training ground.
However, the seriousness of the threats he received easily puts his current situation in perspective, as the player said he considered quitting football.
“To a certain extent I guess I am prepared to deal with it but, when my girlfriend and kids get dragged into it you always worry they get targeted.”
“It definitely got to the point when I thought to myself ‘enough is enough’. There will be those out there who will say I have brought this on myself but I don’t believe that for a minute.
“There have been stages where it’s got dangerous and I’ve had to consider if it’s really worth it.”
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