A TikTok and Instagram influencer who bombarded Premier League footballer Mason Mount with messages following a one-night stand with him has avoided prison.
Orla Melissa Sloan, 22, who called herself Devil Baby on Instagram, used 21 phone numbers to stalk the Chelsea midfielder for four months between June 19 and October 28 last year.
She also stalked his former team-mate Billy Gilmour between September 10 and October 28 2022 and harassed fellow Blues star Ben Chilwell between October 20 and 29 2022.
Mount, 24, became worried that she would turn up at the club’s training ground in Cobham, Surrey, while the messages left Gilmour, 22, unable to sleep.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard Sloan slept with Mount after they met at a party at his England team-mate Chilwell’s home in November 2020.
Prosecutor Jason Seetal told an earlier hearing the pair remained in contact for around six months before Mount “decided that the relationship was not going to progress”.
He said: “Upon informing Miss Sloan of this, he has been subjected to a bombardment of messages.
“He began asking her to stop messaging him before blocking the number.
“He then began to receive messages from new numbers and each time he would block those numbers, there would be messages from a different number.”
The prosecutor said some messages included collages of photos of the player with other women.
The earlier hearing was told how in one message from an Instagram account using the Devil Baby name, she said: “I can morph at any time so let me apologise and set things right.”
Another showed an Apple account buying a new number for £12.99 with the words: “I’m not buying food anymore so I can get more numbers.
“I will be faster than you.”
Mount was “concerned she had an obsession or fixation with him and he didn’t know what she was capable of”, the earlier hearing was told.
He said in a victim impact statement: “Miss Sloan knows roughly where I live and where I train.
“I’m worried as if she is unable to contact me she might turn up at my training centre.”
The court heard other messages were aimed at professional footballers, friends and family members, including left-back Chilwell, 26.
He told how he found Sloan’s behaviour “erratic”, while Scotland midfielder Gilmour said her messages had a “huge impact” on his life, after he joined Brighton from Chelsea in September last year.
Gilmour said: “I have not been able to sleep and have had to take sleeping tablets.
“It’s had a negative effect on my performance and professional life.
“Being in a new town where I don’t have my friends or family, it’s really upsetting.”
The court heard Gilmour had initially exchanged messages with Sloan before telling her he did not want their contact to continue and did not have a relationship with her.
But she claimed to have fallen pregnant in allegations described in court as “completely fictitious”.
He added: “I don’t know who I can trust anymore.
“Some of the information would only have been known by people close to me.”
Sloan, from Exeter, appeared to show little visible emotion as she sat in the dock with a black top over a white dress and heavy make up.
In mitigation her lawyer Michael Cogan said she had been “naive” in not realising any relationship with Mount was not going to progress, adding that she is remorseful and has not contacted them since.
She was warned she faced jail after admitting stalking Mount and Gilmour and causing harassment to Chilwell, at a hearing last month.
However she was handed a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months by a magistrates’ bench.
She must complete 30 rehabilitation days and 200 hours of unpaid work.
She must also pay Gilmour £500, Mount and Chilwell £300 each plus £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
Howe taking plenty of positives despite frustrating Newcastle campaign
Eddie Howe was keen to look at the positives after Newcastle United secured seventh place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes were among the goalscorers as Newcastle won 4-2 at Brentford to finish their Premier League campaign.
The victory ensured a seventh-place finish, and a Manchester City victory over Manchester United in next Saturday's FA Cup final will confirm Newcastle's place in next season's Europa Conference League.
While this season did not quite live up to the heroics of last term, which saw the Magpies finish in the Champions League spots, Howe still feels it has been a successful campaign.
"It summed up our season," Howe told BBC Sport. "We weren't totally secure at the back, but great credit to the players. They've done their job - now we wait and see.
"We anticipated after losing against Manchester United that our control of the [European] situation had gone. It's never a nice situation, but whatever happens, happens.
"We have issues to solve defensively. If we can do that, next season could be another season of really strong performances. This was a season that could have been better, but a good season overall.
"We're a really united club. I think we're still moving forward, so there's a lot to be positive about."
Postecoglou will not settle until Tottenham hit his 'lofty ambitions'
Ange Postecoglou warned Tottenham he will not settle until the club hits the "lofty ambitions" targeted in his mind.
Spurs were 3-0 victors over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday, ending their Premier League season with a convincing win to finish fifth in the table.
Postecoglou voiced his frustrations after Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City ended their hopes of Champions League football next term.
The Spurs head coach was far more relaxed after his side performed well in Sheffield, with Dejan Kulusevski twice on target, along with a goal for Pedro Porro against the relegated Blades.
Yet Postecoglou insisted his ambitions remain high as the Australian attempts to take Tottenham to the next level.
"Contrary to my general demeanour, I have loved every minute of it," former Celtic boss Postecoglou said of his first season in charge of Tottenham.
"It is a great challenge in the Premier League and taking over a big club that didn't have a great year last year. You understand it is not going to run smoothly, but I have enjoyed the whole season.
"I have got some lofty ambitions for the football club and until we reach that point I am not going to be smiling too much.
"As I said, all any manager wants is maximum effort and I have got that from everyone involved. I have enjoyed it and looking forward to pushing on from here."
Asked to summarise his first campaign in England's top league, Postecoglou continued: "It's been good, it's been eventful, it's had a bit of everything.
"I am obviously not delighted with the way we finished the season but in fairness to the players and staff we have been in the top five all season, in a year where there was a fair bit of upheaval.
"We finished eighth last year, player turnover, different football, different way of training, it is not easy to maintain a level when you are trying to do that.
"Even in our tough periods this year we have still been competitive for the most part."
Kulusevski scored his seventh and eighth Premier League goals of the season (36 outings), more than he managed in his first two league campaigns with Tottenham combined (seven across 48 games).
Only in the 2019-20 season with Parma has the Sweden winger scored more times in a league season (10 in Serie A), and Postecoglou hailed Kulusevski's returns.
He added: "I thought Deki was good. He's worked awfully hard this year without a lot of reward in the front third.
"We thought playing him through middle today would help us with his mobility and ability to run in behind. He did well.
"He always works hard but it's that sort of final third where we need him to get rewards and he got them today so he did well."
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
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