Refugee tripped by journalist heading to Spain as soccer coach

ONE of the Syrian refugees, Son Osama Abdul Mohsen, who was filmed being tripped up by Hungarian journalist Petra László on September 8, is due to arrive at Madrid’s Atocha train station on the evening of September 16.

The president of Spain’s National Soccer Coach Training Centre (Cenafe) found out he had been a coach for a football team in Syria and decided to offer his assistance. “We are a centre for coaches and we like to help everyone who works in this,” explained the Cenafe director, Conrado Galán.

He, along with two children, one of whom he was pictured holding when tripped and a student interpreter supplied by Cenafe, Mohamed Labrouzi, left Germany by train bound for Madrid. 

“We have used money from our advertising budget to pay for an apartment in Getafe, a suburb of Madrid in which he will be able to stay,” the Cenafe director said.

His wife and two other children are still in Turkey, but next week Cenafe will make efforts to bring the entire family to Spain. “When we saw the story of Mohsen published in the newspapers we felt very bad about it,” continued Galán. “As soon as he learns Spanish, we plan to offer him a job at our organisation.”