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Bilel Mohsni

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Bilel Mohsni
Mohsni training with Southend United in 2010
Personal information
Full name Bilel Mohsni[1]
Date of birth (1987-07-21) 21 July 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position(s) Centre-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 CO Les Ulis 44 (5)
2006–2007 Mende
2007–2008 US Saint-Georges 22 (0)
2008–2009 CO Les Ulis 30 (6)
2009–2010 Sainte-Geneviève Sports 29 (2)
2010–2013 Southend United 62 (18)
2012–2013 → Ipswich Town (loan) 5 (0)
2013–2015 Rangers 44 (11)
2015–2016 Angers 0 (0)
2015 → Angers B (res.) 4 (0)
2016 Paris FC 14 (0)
2016 Étoile du Sahel 1 (0)
2018 Dundee United 10 (3)
2019–2020 Panachaiki 5 (0)
2020 Grimsby Town 1 (0)
2020–2021 Barnet 3 (0)
2021–2022 Al-Rawdhah 0 (0)
2022 Dungannon Swifts 8 (0)
Total 282 (45)
International career
2014–2018 Tunisia 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bilel Mohsni (born 21 July 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

He notably played for Rangers where he was part of the Ibrox team who earned promotion in 2014 following their demotion to the foot of the Scottish football system. He also had spells in the English Football League with Southend United, Ipswich Town and Grimsby Town and back in Scotland with Dundee United. Born in France he also saw spells in the country with CO Les Ulis, Mende, US Saint-Georges, Sainte-Geneviève Sports, Angers and Paris FC. In the final few seasons of his career he also played in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia with Étoile du Sahel and Al-Rawdhah, as well as returning to England with non-league side Barnet and Northern Irish side Dungannon Swifts.

He was capped nine times by Tunisia between 2014 and 2018 and was part of their Africa Cup of Nations squad for 2015, and their provisional 29-man roster for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Early life

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Mohsni is of Tunisian descent[2] and grew up in the Les Ulis suburb of Paris, France.[3]

Club career

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Early career

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In his homeland, he played for CO Les Ulis (twice), Mende, US Saint-Georges and Sainte-Geneviève Sports at the beginning of his career, between the years of 2005 and 2010. He combined playing part-time with coaching children in the community.[3]

Southend United

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In the summer of 2010, Mohsni moved to England on the advice of his agent to sign with Southend United of League Two. He was one of seventeen new signings, as new manager Paul Sturrock rebuilt the side following a turbulent period in the club's history which left the club with only a handful of players and in the bottom rung of England's professional football ladder.[4] This followed a successful trial period. This move came despite difficulties in securing his transfer from the French club,[5] after delays in getting the necessary paperwork from the French Football Federation.[6] In September 2010, he signed a new two-year deal with the club.[7]

Mohsni made his Southend debut and his first game in professional football against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup on 24 August 2010. Mohsni had a goal disallowed for offside and hit the crossbar in the game Southend eventually lost 2–1 after extra time. On 27 August, Mohsni made his league debut against Bradford City. Mohsni scored his first goal for the club on 13 November 2010 in a 1–1 draw against Accrington Stanley. On 21 January 2011, Mohsni scored a 96th-minute equaliser against Bury to salvage a 1–1 draw. In the following game at home to Macclesfield Town, Mohsni was picked to start up front following his leveller against Bury and an injury to Barry Corr. He scored twice in a 4–1 win, with involvement in one of the other goals.[8] On 31 January 2011, Southend rejected a bid of £250,000 from Blackpool for Mohsni.[9] On 5 February 2011, against Shrewsbury Town, Mohsni was stretchered off amidst fears he had suffered a broken ankle, scans later revealed no break or fracture but he had suffered ligament damage and would be out of action for at least two months.[10] Mohsni made his return from injury on 2 April 2011 playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw against Aldershot Town.[11] His return to first team action also saw him suffer a broken nose after being elbowed by a player.[12]

Starting the 2011–12 season as a striker due to injuries, Mohsni started playing as a centre forward. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 opening day win at home to Hereford United. On 3 September 2011, again playing as a makeshift centre forward, Mohsni scored after a 35-yard strike against Northampton Town.[13] He was later utilised as a winger for the majority of the 2011–12 season, and praised by manager Paul Sturrock for his versatility.[14] However, Mohsni's on-field discipline was poor, resulting in a series of red and yellow cards. In December 2011 he was sent off for third time since joining Southend.[15] On 5 January 2012, Southend manager Sturrock confirmed that he would not be sold in the January transfer window, and would remain at Southend until the end of the season.[16] On 20 April 2012, Mohsni scored a hat-trick in Southend's 3–0 win over Barnet, a result which secured their place in the promotion play-offs.[17] Southend, however, were knocked out of the play-offs by Crewe Alexandra.[18]

Mohsni failed to return for the start of pre-season training ahead of the 2012–13 season. Southend manager Sturrock announced that Mohsni was 'reluctant' to return to the club at all believing he could play his football at a higher level than Southend's League Two and that he was scheduled to go on trial with 'a Premier League side'.[19] On 20 July he appeared for a West Ham United development side in a 4–1 defeat to Grays Athletic, scoring both a goal and an own-goal.[20] In August 2012, West Ham's bid of £150,000 for Mohsni was rejected by Southend.[21]

Mohsni was not given a squad number by Southend before the start of the 2012–13 season. On 28 August 2012, it was announced that Mohsni was to go on trial with SPL club Celtic.[22]

Loan to Ipswich Town

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He then spent a week on trial with Championship club Ipswich Town in September,[23] however, it was later reported that Ipswich would not be signing Mohsni since he refused an extended trial at Portman Road.[24] Mohsni then spent a fortnight on trial with Birmingham City before eventually securing a three-month loan deal with Ipswich Town on 5 October 2012.[25][26] He played only five games for Ipswich,[27] all substitute appearances, and found first team football opportunities limited due to restrictions on the number of on-loan players a team can field.[28]

Return to Southend

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Having returned from Portman Road on 31 December 2012, Mohsni refused to train with the Shrimpers although he remained registered with the club.[29] In January 2013, Mohsni spent time on trial with Stevenage, training with the squad, although no move materialised.[30]

Eventually, on 16 February 2013, when Southend were desperately short of players through injury and suspension, particularly centre-backs, Mohsni agreed to play for the Blues,[31] wearing the number 28 shirt. He made his return that day in a 2–1 defeat to Northampton, which only lasted 27 minutes after a high footed challenge saw him sent off. He was reported to have watched the remainder of the game from the Roots Hall stands, still wearing his kit.[32] Bilel's final appearance for Southend came at Wembley stadium in the Football League Trophy Final, a competition he had played no previous part in.[27][33] On 30 April 2013, Mohsni was released by Southend,[34] just 10 months after the club turned West Ham's £150,000 offer for him.[21]

Rangers

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On 4 July 2013, Mohsni began a week's trial at Rangers.[35] The trial was extended by three weeks due to impressive performances in the 2013 pre-season campaign. On 26 July he signed a two-year deal with the club which was due to commence on 1 September when the club's transfer embargo had been lifted.[36] He made his debut for Rangers at Ibrox on 14 September 2013 in a 5–1 win over Arbroath in the league.[37] Mohsni became a regular in the Rangers side, playing in 28 league matches and scoring 10 goals.[38]

Mohsni's ill-discipline flared up again on 2 August when he was sent-off in a pre-season friendly against Derby County. He was red carded for headbutting striker Chris Martin, and as a result received a two-match ban from the SFA for the first two competitive domestic fixtures of the season.[39][40] Mohsni returned to the Rangers side after his suspension but found himself in further trouble as a result of an altercation with Hibernian defender Liam Fontaine during Hibs' 3–1 win at Ibrox on 29 September 2014. Mohsni was charged with violent conduct days later by the SFA Compliance Officer, and was suspended for three matches.[41]

On 31 May 2015, in the second leg of the Scottish Premiership promotion playoff final at Fir Park, in what was to be Mohsni's final game for Rangers, his time with the club ended in controversy following an altercation with Motherwell's Lee Erwin. At the final whistle, with Motherwell having won the tie, Erwin pushed Mohsni in the back, and he retaliated by kicking and punching Erwin, and also fought with Motherwell substitute, Fraser Kerr. Mohsni, Erwin and Kerr were all shown red cards by referee Craig Thomson after the game had finished.[42] On 1 June, Police Scotland announced an investigation into the incident at Fir Park.[43] On 2 June, the Scottish Football Association revealed that Lee Erwin had only received a yellow card from referee Thomson for his part in the incident.[44] Mohsni later received a seven match ban for the offences.[45]

Return to France

[edit]

Mohsni returned to French football in August 2015 when he signed a two-year contract with newly promoted Ligue 1 club Angers SCO.[46]

After six months in Angers without playing with the first team, Mohsni left Angers in January 2016 and signed a six-month contract with Ligue 2 club Paris FC.[47]

Later career

[edit]

Mohsni joined Étoile du Sahel in September 2016.

Mohsni signed a short-term contract with Scottish Championship club Dundee United in March 2018.[48] He left the side in May 2018, following the end of his contract.[49]

In February 2019, Moshni penned a 18-month deal with the Patras-based club Panachaiki FC - though this was cut short in July 2019.[50]

In March 2020 he joined Grimsby Town on trial.[51] On 11 August 2020, Mohsni signed for Grimsby on a one-year contract.[52][53] On 22 November 2020, following a 5–0 defeat against Tranmere Rovers, Ian Holloway announced he had released Mohsni as he did not meet his standards. This prompted Mohsni to set up a Twitter account and post a video to announce that he had not left the club, was still contracted, feeling fit and would be at training the next day.[54] The following day, Holloway said that he thought the termination had been agreed and that it was not his concern whether the player remained at the club until January,[55] Mohsni would go on to sign for Barnet on 1 December 2020,[56] after making just one appearance off of the bench for Grimsby.[57]

On 1 December 2020, Mohsni joined National League club Barnet on a non-contract basis.[58] He was released on 8 January 2021 after three appearances.[59]

On 8 June 2021, Mohsni was on the verge of signing for NIFL Premiership side Dungannon Swifts, managed by former Rangers teammate Dean Shiels. The deal was expected to be confirmed and was waiting for international clearance.,[60] however on 3 July 2021 it was announced that Mohsni joined Saudi Arabian second-tier side Al-Rawdah.[61]

On 24 February 2022, Mohsni signed a contract with NIFL Premiership side Dungannon Swifts, following speculation of a move from the previous summer.[62]

Moshni announced his retirement from professional football in December 2022, citing family reasons and the need to look after his father, who is suffering with Alzheimer's.[63]

International career

[edit]

Mohsni was born and raised in France, but is also of Tunisian descent where his father was born.[3] He was named in the Tunisia national team's squad for its friendly match against South Korea on 28 May 2014, where he made his international debut in a 1–0 win.[38][64]

Tunisia coach Georges Leekens selected Mohsni for the 23-man squad taking part in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[65] However, Mohsni was an unused substitute in their opening 1–1 draw against Cape Verde and he had to deny reports of quitting the tournament after storming out of the dressing room at full-time.[66] Tunisia reached the quarter-finals, where they lost 2–1 after extra-time to host nation Equatorial Guinea. Mohsni however did not feature in any of Tunisia four matches at the tournament.[67]

After an absence from the team of over 18 months, Mohnsi played against Togo on 29 March 2016 in a qualifier tie for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.[68]

In May 2018 he was named in Tunisia's preliminary 29-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[69] He was dropped from the final 23-man squad.[70] Mohsni reacted angrily, calling his omission an "injustice".[71]

Personal life

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Mohsni is a devout Muslim. During his time at Rangers, a room was set aside at both Rangers Training Centre and Ibrox Stadium to enable him to pray at the required times throughout the day. He was also permitted to arrive at a later time for training on Fridays to allow him to attend his mosque.[72]

Honours

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Southend United

Rangers

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Grimsby Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 32. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  2. ^ Sank, Sam. "Mohsni close to Blues move". www.ftbpro.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Herron, Lindsay (18 October 2013). "Rangers defender Bilel Mohsni: I escaped the nightmare of Paris streets and now I'm living the dream". Daily Record. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Shrimpers' boss Sturrock wants to be Essex's "Special One"" (9 September 2010). Thurrock Gazette. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Southend United hopeful on Bilel Mohsni papers". BBC Sport. 12 August 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  6. ^ "Southend United's Bouzid and Mohsni registered to play". BBC Sport. 18 August 2010. Archived from the original on 21 August 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  7. ^ "MOHSNI SIGNS NEW DEAL". southendunited.co.uk. 17 September 2010. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  8. ^ "Southend United 4 – Macclesfield Town 1". BBC Sport. 25 January 2011. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Shrimpers shun Blackpool bid". Sky Sports. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  10. ^ "MOHSNI OUT FOR 6–8 WEEKS". Southend United F.C. 9 February 2011. Archived from the original on 18 April 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  11. ^ "Mohsni starts against Shots". Southend United F.C. 2 April 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  12. ^ "Bilel Mohsni unhappy return for Southend United against Aldershot Town". Echo News. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  13. ^ "BBC Sport - Southend 2-2 Northampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  14. ^ "Southend United boss Paul Sturrock praises Bilel Mohsni". BBC Sport. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  15. ^ "Mohsni train exit riles Southend". BBC Sport.
  16. ^ "Sturrock will keep Mohsni at Southend". BBC News. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  17. ^ "Southend 3 - 0 Barnet". BBC Sport. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  18. ^ Osbourne, Chris (16 May 2012). "Southend 2 - Crewe 2 (agg 2-3)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  19. ^ "Bilel Mohsni puts Southend United future in doubt". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  20. ^ Phillips, Chris (20 July 2012). "Southend United's Bilel Mohsni scores at both ends for West Ham United in trial game against Grays Athletic". www.echo-news.co.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  21. ^ a b "Hammers' Mohsni bid rejected". www1.skysports.com. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  22. ^ Phillips, Chris (28 August 2012). "Celtic trial for Southend United's Bilel Mohnsi". Echo News. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  23. ^ Stuart Watson (4 September 2012). "TRANSFER LATEST: Fiery Frenchman Bilel Mohsni on trial at Ipswich Town". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  24. ^ "BBC Sport - Southend's Bilel Mohsni walks away from trial with Ipswich". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  25. ^ SouthendUnited_user. "Mohsni joins Ipswich on loan". Retrieved 19 June 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  26. ^ Tattum, Colin (6 October 2012). "Birmingham City: No deal for Bilel Mohsni as he joins Ipswich Town on loan". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  27. ^ a b c "Bilel Mohsni". SoccerWay. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  28. ^ Watson, Stuart (30 November 2012). "Bilel Mohsni's loan at Ipswich Town will not be terminated". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  29. ^ "BBC Sport - Bilel Mohsni not at Southend United training". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  30. ^ "Stevenage hand trial to Southend United defender". The Comet. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  31. ^ Phillips, Chris (16 February 2013). "Bilel Mohnsi returns to Southend United and should start against Northampton Town". Echo News. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  32. ^ "Ten-man Blues suffer last-gasp defeat". southendunited.co.uk. 16 February 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  33. ^ a b Osbourne, Chris (7 April 2013). "Crewe 2 - 0 Southend". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  34. ^ "Southend United: Bilel Mohsni among five to leave club". BBC Sport. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  35. ^ "Mohsni on trial at Rangers".
  36. ^ "Defender Bilel Mohsni is eighth summer signing". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  37. ^ "Bilel Mohsni". Fitba Stats. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  38. ^ a b "Bilel Mohsni set to make debut with Tunisian National Team". Rangers Report. 18 May 2014. Archived from the original on 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  39. ^ "Rangers dealt early blow as Mohsni dismissal stands". Belfasttelegraph.
  40. ^ "SFA uphold Mohsni ban". BT Sport. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  41. ^ "Rangers to contest Boyd 'butt' ban, with Mohsni penalty accepted". BBC Sport. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  42. ^ "BBC Sport - Rangers co-operate over 'disgraceful' Fir Park brawl". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  43. ^ "Motherwell v Rangers: Police investigating ugly scenes involving fans and player Bilel Mohsni". The Independent. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  44. ^ "Motherwell's Lee Erwin was NOT SENT OFF for his part in the 'Battle of Fir Park' with Bilel Mohsni". Daily Record. 2 June 2015. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  45. ^ "BBC Sport - Bilel Mohsni: Former Rangers defender gets seven-match ban". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  46. ^ "Bilel Mohsni joins French side Angers after leaving Rangers". Sky Sports. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  47. ^ "Deux nouvelles arrivées en provenance de Ligue 1 au Paris FC". parisfootballclub.com (in French). 18 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  48. ^ "Bilel Mohsni: Dundee United sign former Rangers defender". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  49. ^ "Captain Willo Flood among Dundee United departures". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  50. ^ Coombs, Dan (14 October 2019). "What happened to notorious Rangers defender Mohsni and why does he blame Mbappe?". HITC.
  51. ^ "The lowdown on the 'walking foul' training with Grimsby Town". Grimsbylive. 6 March 2020 – via www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk.
  52. ^ "Mohsni Becomes First Summer Signing". www.grimsby-townfc.co.uk.
  53. ^ "Bilel Mohsni: Grimsby sign former Glasgow Rangers defender". BBC Sport. 11 August 2020.
  54. ^ "Confusion reigns as Bilel Mohsni denies leaving Grimsby Town". Grimsbylive. 22 November 2020.
  55. ^ "Ian Holloway responds after Bilel Mohsni denies leaving Grimsby Town". Grimsbylive. 23 November 2020.
  56. ^ "Welcome to Barnet, Bilel Mohsni!".
  57. ^ "Ludvig Ohman and Bilel Mohsni leave Grimsby Town as Ian Holloway eyes up more departures". Grimsbylive. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  58. ^ "Welcome to Barnet, Bilel Mohsni". Barnet FC. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  59. ^ "Bilel Mohsni and Dean Parrett depart". Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  60. ^ "Dungannon Swifts close to signing former Rangers defender Bilel Mohsni in Irish League transfer coup". Belfasttelegraph.
  61. ^ "Rangers flop Bilel Mohsni moves to Saudi second division team". 3 July 2021.
  62. ^ "Dungannon Swifts confirm signing of former Rangers defender". 24 February 2022.
  63. ^ "Blues favourite Bilel Mohsni on France against England and ending his own career".
  64. ^ "International Friendly: South Korea 0 Tunisia 1". Soccerway. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  65. ^ Okeleji, Oluwashina (13 January 2015). "Tunisia call up Rjaibi and Akaichi for Nations Cup duty". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  66. ^ "Bilel Mohsni 'phoned his mum' after Tunisia snub". The Scotsman. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  67. ^ Crocker, Sam (1 February 2015). "Bilel Mohsni outraged at Tunisia's Africa Cup of Nations referee 'injustice'". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  68. ^ "Mohsni, Bilel". National Football Teams. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  69. ^ Okeleji, Oluwashina (15 May 2018). "2018 World Cup: Tunisia make recalls to preliminary squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  70. ^ Adewoye, Gbenga (2 June 2018). "Tunisia unveil 23-man squad for the World Cup". goal.com. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  71. ^ Madyira, Michael (13 June 2018). "Tunisia defender Bilel Mohsni angry with coach Nabil Maaloul over World Cup snub". goal.com. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  72. ^ Duffy, Marisa. "Keeping the faith is no obstacle for Muslim Rangers player Mohsni" (15 March 2014). Herald Scotland. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  73. ^ "npower Player of the Month 2011/12". The Football League. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
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