Abu Dhabi: Al Jazira forward Romarinho returned to the UAE on Thursday after being arrested in Qatar, according to a club statement.
The 26-year-old Brazilian had been given permission by the Abu Dhabi club to return to Qatar this week to settle a financial matter with his former club El Jaish.
Upon attempting to leave Qatar, Romarinho was detained by Qatari authorities, for no apparent reason.
A statement from Al Jazira said the Abu Dhabi club forced Romarinho’s release after appointing a legal team to coordinate with the United Nations, Fifa, the Asian Football Confederation, the UAE Football Association and the Brazilian Consulate in Doha.
The club says it will now work with the relevant authorities to determine why Romarinho was detained, and whether any compensation can be claimed for the psychological damage caused.
Al Jazira called it an “illegal detention in violation of all human rights norms”.
They also criticised Qatar for politicising football, which is against Fifa policy, with the assumption being that Romarinho’s arrest had something to do with the current diplomatic crisis between the UAE and Qatar.
The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 because of Qatar’s support for terrorism.
“The Qatari authorities have reached a new extent in terrorist practices, now extending to football, in spite of Fifa’s demand not to mix sport with politics,” read the statement.
Al Jazira coach Henk ten Cate has excused Romarinho from training and the Brazilian won’t feature in Friday’s Arabian Gulf Cup clash at home to Al Ain. The coach said he would reassess Romarinho’s psychological condition after this weekend’s match to see when he could be re-integrated into the squad. Romarinho joined Al Jazira from Qatar’s El Jaish over the summer along with Uzbek forward Sardor Rashidov.
