26-07-2025
Red card for late claim
A former international footballer has lost his legal battle to reclaim BHD 33,000 from a Bahraini woman, after the High Civil Appeals Court ruled he had failed to prove she owed him the money — twelve years after he handed her the cheque.
The court upheld a lower court's decision, finding that the player's case lacked key details and any evidence of an actual debt. His lawsuit, filed in 2024, claimed the woman had never repaid the amount he issued to her in 2013. She denied owing him anything.
Representing the woman, lawyer Manar Janahi welcomed the verdict and argued that the burden of proof lay entirely with the former footballer. 'There was no obligation for my client to prove repayment or explain the funds,' she said, pointing to Bahraini civil law which places the duty to prove a debt on the claimant.
The court noted that in his initial filing, the claimant gave no explanation for why the cheque had been issued. Only at the appeal stage did he allege it was tied to an unpaid loan — a claim that appeared nowhere in his original documents.
Also unexplained was the lengthy 12-year delay between issuing the cheque and filing the lawsuit. The court said it was entirely possible the cheque was written for other reasons, such as settling a private obligation or fulfilling a lawful agreement — and without clear evidence, no assumption of debt could be made.
While a cheque can indicate a valid obligation, the court emphasised that claimants must provide a clear legal basis for demanding repayment.
