THE Scottish Sun is celebrating football’s glitz and glamour — with WAG WEEK.
The country’s No1 newspaper has scored a winner with a special series on the women behind our best-known footballers.
Today Debbie Lawlor, the fiancée of Celtic ace Anthony Stokes, tells MARC DEANIE her man’s just misunderstood...
HOOPS star Stokes has made his name as a top striker — and Debbie’s a fearsome defender.
Say anything about her fiancé and she takes it personally.
The pretty brunette, mum to the couple’s 15-month-old son Bobby, says: “He’s had a bad rep at times but he’s the most laidback guy and has a heart of gold.
“People see him as being uptight and they give him a hard time.
“I just want to let loose sometimes and say, ‘How dare you say that about him?’”
The Irishman was caught up in controversy last December after attending the memorial party in Dublin for murdered Real IRA chief Alan Ryan.
Stokes, 24, was disciplined by Celtic and there were fears his career at the club was under threat.
But he stayed after a heart-to-heart with boss Neil Lennon and is set to sign a new deal.
Law graduate Debbie, 25, says: “A lot of things said weren’t true.
“Anthony is tough and was able to deal with it. It probably gets to me more.
“The club has been great with him — they know the truth.”
Debbie with Anthony Stokes Happier ... Debbie and Anthony have come through tough times
Stokes and his family have found it tough living in the Old Firm spotlight — and have been targets for abuse in the past.
Debbie recalls a sinister incident in 2011, when they were forced to quit their pad in Broxburn, West Lothian, after yobs smashed the windows while she was inside.
Stokes — who joined Celtic from Hibs a year earlier in an £800,000 move — was away overnight in Inverness preparing for a match against Caley Thistle.
Speaking publicly about the incident for the first time, Debbie says: “When we moved there, the estate agent didn’t tell us we were in the heart of a Rangers-supporting area.
“The abuse started straight away — I’d be taking the shopping in and someone would say something.
“On a Saturday night, people passing by going home from the pub would sing outside the house.”
Debbie was eight months’ pregnant with Bobby when the baying mob struck — a year after a similar incident took place, when a gang of 15 yobs hurled bigoted abuse and a WHEELIE BIN at the property.
She adds: “I thought they were just smashing bottles but then someone started kicking the front door.
“That’s when I got scared and called the police. I kept thinking about being pregnant — you just want to protect your baby.”
The thugs fled and Debbie asked cops to stay away until the next day. And she DIDN’T tell Stokes what happened until after the match.
Debbie, speaking at their Glasgow flat, says: “I went back to bed without realising the windows had been smashed.
“A neighbour knocked the door the next day to tell me.
“The police came out and were really nice — I made them swear not to tell Anthony until after the game.
“Four days later we moved to Glasgow and I love it — we’ve had no hassle whatsoever.”
The sweethearts have been together for seven years after meeting as teenagers while attending Dublin high schools opposite each other. They have been planning on getting hitched for the past two years.
Debbie says: “We say we’ll get married every summer. It was meant to be last summer but I had Bobby.
“Right now Anthony’s focused on signing a new deal with Celtic — and I’m itching for him to stay.
“It’s such a massive thing for him to play for the club because he’s Irish. I’m so proud of him “We are both really grateful for the opportunities his career brings. Our families worked really hard to provide for us and now we’ve got the chance to give Bobby a good life.”
