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Zahir Belounis

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Full name
  
Zahir Belounis

Name
  
Zahir Belounis

Height
  
1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)

Playing position
  
Forward

Years
  
Team


Zahir Belounis Zahir Belounis From 39soccer prisoner39 to waiter CNNcom

Date of birth
  
(1980-02-15) February 15, 1980 (age 35)

Place of birth
  
Saint-Maur-des-Fosses

Retour de zahir belounis en france


Zahir Belounis (born 15 February 1980) is a French-Algerian Football player who plays as a striker. The refusal of authorities in Qatar, where he was playing football, to grant him an exit visa after a pay dispute, brought him to wider attention.

Contents

Zahir Belounis Zahir Belounis From 39soccer prisoner39 to waiter CNNcom

Retour en france du footballeur zahir belounis bloqu pr s d un an au qatar


Career

Zahir Belounis BBC Sport Trapped Zahir Belounis planned to escape from

Belounis played as a striker for lower league French and Swiss clubs before moving to Qatar in 2007. He played for the El Jaish SC.

Zahir Belounis staticguimcouksysimagesSportPixpictures20

He was in a dispute over unpaid wages from 2010 but because in Qatar, the employer has control over exit visas under the Kafala system, he was unable to leave the country. Belounis threatened to go on hunger strike to draw attention to his cause and in 2013, he wrote an open letter to 2022 World Cup ambassadors Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola to garner support. FIFA declined to take up his case as Belounis had appealed via the Qatari authorities and not through FIFA.

Zahir Belounis Zahir Belounis 39The system in Qatar is killing me Please

After 19 months he was granted an exit visa and left Qatar to return to France. Belounis admitted that during his time awaiting an exit visa he had planned to leave Qatar illegally, considered suicide and had turned to alcohol to help him cope with his situation.

Zahir Belounis French footballer Zahir Belounis secures exit permit

The case drew attention to Qatari employment laws and their interaction with their hosting of the 2022 World Cup.


Zahir Belounis Belounis gets exit visa finally Doha Stadium Plus

References

Zahir Belounis Wikipedia


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