Australian PM urges Thailand to release footballer

Melbourne: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he has written two letters to his Thai counterpart calling for the release of a football player who is fighting extradition to Bahrain.

Hakeem al-Araibi, a refugee who lives and plays for a semi-professional club in Australia, has been held in Thailand since November at the request of Bahrain.

The 25-year-old al-Araibi, a former Bahraini national team player, has said he fled his home country due to political repression and fears he is at risk of being tortured if he returns to Bahrain.

"It is within the executive authority of the Thai government to actually enable him, under their law, to be returned to Australia. I have pointed this out in the engagements I've had with the Thai prime minister," Morrison said on Wednesday.

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Morrison's comments come after Australia's football body, Football Federation Australia, cancelled a warm up match in Thailand, ahead of next month's qualifiers for the Asian under-23 championships, in protest of al-Araibi's detention.