| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ömer Kerim Ali Rıza[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 November 1979 [2] | ||
| Place of birth | Edmonton, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[3] | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Histon | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?–1998 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–1999 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 1999 | → ADO Den Haag (loan) | ? | (?) |
| 1999–2002 | West Ham United | 0 | (0) |
| 2000 | → Barnet (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 2000–2001 | → Barnet (loan) | 5 | (2) |
| 2001 | → Cambridge United (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 2002–2003 | Cambridge United | 46 | (12) |
| 2003–2006 | Denizlispor | 60 | (16[4]) |
| 2006–2008 | Trabzonspor | 35 | (4[4]) |
| 2009–2010 | Shrewsbury Town | 13 | (0) |
| 2010 | Aldershot Town | 1 | (0) |
| 2010– | Histon | 47 | (15) |
| National team‡ | |||
| Turkey A2 | 1 | (0) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Ömer Kerim Ali Rıza (pronounced [øˈmeɾ ɾɯˈzɑ]; born 8 November 1979) is a footballer who plays for Histon as a striker.
Born in Edmonton, London,[2] of Turkish Cypriot descent,[5] Rıza started his career as a youth with English club Arsenal and made his first team debut on 2 November 1998 against Derby County in the League Cup. He also travelled with the team on away fixtures against Dynamo Kyiv and Panathinaikos as a substitute in the UEFA Champions League. With few first team opportunities at Arsenal, during the 1998–99 season he went on loan to ADO Den Haag for three months.
In the 1999–2000 season, he moved to West Ham United, but again was unable to break into the first team. He went on loan to Barnet and Cambridge United, and signed a permanent deal with the latter in 2002. During the 2002–03 season he scored 17 goals for United, which prompted a move to Süper Lig side Denizlispor during the 2003 close season. In January 2006, he signed for Trabzonspor. In January 2008 Rıza walked out of the club claiming he had not been paid. The Turkish Football Federation banned him from playing for any club.[6]
In February 2009 Rıza returned to English football with a trial at League Two club Shrewsbury Town, and impressed manager Paul Simpson, but Rıza could not take part in any official matches due to the ban imposed upon him by the TFF. The players legal representatives submitted a case to football's World governing body FIFA in early April 2009, from which a Swiss judge over ruled the TFF decision, on 17 April, that Rıza shall be allowed to compete in English football. Rıza made his debut for Shrewsbury Town as a second half substitute against Rotherham United the following day. The case with the club and TFF continues, with the player and his legal team awaiting for FIFA to make a decision on the restriction.[7]
On 22 January 2010, he left Shrewsbury Town after struggling to break into the first team during the first half of the season, with Riza and the club coining to an agreement regarding paying off the rest of his contract. On 25 February he joined Aldershot Town until the end of the season.[8] Following the appointment of David Livermore as manager at Histon,[9] Riza joined Histon on a non-contract basis and made his debut against Kettering Town in a Conference National fixture on 28 August. He scored his first goal for Histon when he scored a penalty in their league match against Hayes & Yeading United, which turned out to be the winning goal.[10]
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