Mohamed Hubail

Mohamed Hubail
Personal information
Full name Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Hubail
Date of birth (1981-06-23) 23 June 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Bahrain
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2004 Al-Ahli Manama
2004–2005 Al-Gharrafa
2005–2006 Qatar SC
2006–2007 Al-Ahli Manama
2007–2009 Al-Arabi Kuwait
2009 Al-Ahli Manama
2010 Al-Qadisiya 7 (0)
2010–2011 Al-Ahli Manama
2011 Muscat
2012–2013 Fanja 5
2013–2014 Sitra Club 8
International career‡
2004–2011 Bahrain 70 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 March 2011
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2011

Mohamed Hubail (born 23 June 1981) is a Bahraini footballer who was sentenced to a two-year term of imprisonment by a special security court in Bahrain after taking part in pro-democratic reform protests in Bahrain in 2011.

Career

Hubail is a member of the Bahrain national football team with 61 international appearances, his first in 2004. He is a midfield player who has scored 5 goals at international level.[1] At club level, Hubail currently plays for Al-Ahli Manama in Bahrain. He began his career with Al-Ahli and has also played for Al-Qadisiyah al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia, Al-Arabi Mansouriah in Kuwait and Qatar SC ad-Dōḥa and Al-Gharrafa ad-Dōḥa in Qatar.[1]

Personal life

Mohamed's younger brother, A'ala Hubail, is also a footballer and a member of the Bahraini national team.[2]

2011 detention, secret trial and imprisonment

External videos
video icon Documentary film about Bahraini athletes 2011 detention on YouTube

On 5 April 2011 Mohamed Hubail and his brother A'ala were arrested by the Bahreini authorities and held in custody on an indefinite basis. The brothers had attended demonstrations during the 2011 Bahraini protests.[2] Al-Ahli announced that the brothers had been dismissed from the club squad.[3] The Al Wefaq party, the main opposition party in the Bahrain, announced that he had been convicted and sentenced on June 23 to two years in prison. According to Al Wefaq, the trial was conducted in secret by Bahrain's special security court established under the martial law regime imposed in March 2011.[4]

On 24 June 2011 FIFA, the world football governing body, announced that it had contacted the Bahraini football authorities to provide information about cases involving players detained during political protests. Following allegations of government interference in the sport after Mohammed Hubail's prison sentence and A'ala Hubail's trial and the suspension of over 150 athletes, coaches and referees for taking part in anti-government protests, Bahrain could face a ban from world soccer. Suspension by FIFA could prevent Bahrain participating in Asian Olympic Games qualifying round matches (due in September 2011). According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, the Bahraini trials appeared to bear the marks of political persecution and there were serious concerns that the due process rights of the defendants were not respected.[5]

On 29 June 2011 the Bahrain News Agency reported that the Bahrain Defence Force military public prosecutor had announced that "defendants involved at medical and sport crimes" had been released, but trials would continue in accordance with Bahraini legal procedures.[6]

National team career statistics

Goals for Senior National Team

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
July 17, 2004 Beijing, China  China 2-2 Draw 2004 AFC Asian Cup
July 21, 2004 Beijing, China  Qatar 1-1 Draw 2004 AFC Asian Cup
September 8, 2004 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan  Kyrgyzstan 2-1 Won 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
November 17, 2004 Manama, Bahrain  Tajikistan 4-0 Won 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
November 17, 2004 Manama, Bahrain  Tajikistan 4-0 Won 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification

References

  1. ^ a b "Player profile". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b "In Bahrain, first, they came for the athletes" by Tahiyya Lulu at guardian.co.uk, 22 April 2011, accessed 24 April 2011
  3. ^ "Top sportsmen sacked for taking part in rallies", Gulf Daily News, 7 April 2011, accessed 24 April 2011
  4. ^ "Bahrain player sentenced for protesting", ESPN (Sourced by the AP, 23 June 2011, accessed 24 June 2011
  5. ^ "FIFA wants info on Bahrain arrests", Associated Press report at ESPN Soccer website, 24 June 2011, accessed 24 June 2011
  6. ^ "Announcement by the military prosecuter[sic]", Bahrain News Agency website, 29 June 2011, accessed 29 June 2011