Pro League players in car crash

Jazira's Salem Masoud and Wahda's Fernando Baiano players 'are fine' after collision on Sheikh Zayed Bridge.

Fernando Baiano crashed his Lamborghini.

ABU DHABI // Two Pro League players were involved in a car accident this week in the latest road traffic incident involving professional footballers in the country.
Fernando Baiano, Al Wahda's Brazilian forward, and Salem Masoud, the young Al Jazira defender, were taken to hospital earlier this week after an accident in the early hours of the morning, a Jazira spokesman confirmed.
Driving a Lamborghini and an BMW X6 respectively, Baiano and Masoud collided on Sheikh Zayed Bridge heading into Abu Dhabi. A taxi was also involved in the accident.
Khaled Awadh, the assistant chief executive at Wahda, said Baiano was arrested.
"We don't know if he was drunk or not, but yes, he was involved in a car crash," Awadh said. "We are trying to see what we can do to get him out of police custody."
The Jazira spokesman said Masoud, 22, was taken to hospital with "scratches on his hand" but is "OK". "They [Masoud and Baiano] are fine," he said.
Awadh said Baiano "won't be available" for Wahda's league game with Al Ahli on Sunday, while Masoud, according to the Jazira spokesman, "has not been back to training" since and will not be in contention for selection for the home game with Emirates on Saturday.
Earlier this week, Josef Hickersberger, the Wahda manager, said Baiano "right now is not fit enough to play for a full match".
The incident comes two months after Theyab Awana, a 21-year-old national team winger, was killed in a car accident. Returning from Al Ain to Abu Dhabi after training with the national team, the Baniyas player is believed to have died instantly when the car he was driving collided with a stationary lorry. The player's father said he believes his son was sending a text message when he hit the lorry.
Although police would not confirm Awana was sending messages when the accident happened, they said that appeared to be the case.
Two days before the Awana tragedy, Saeed Al Noobi, a 20-year-old midfielder for Al Dhafra, was killed in a crash on Muroor Road in Abu Dhabi.
Just over a week after Awana died, Haddaf Abdullah Al Ameri, the 18-year-old Al Ain and Olympic team midfielder, was involved in a car crash after training at the club. Al Ameri was taken to hospital where he underwent medical and MRI tests that confirmed that he had a contusion to his shoulder, but no serious injuries.
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