Omar Bugiel

Omar Chaaban Khaled Bugiel (عمر خالد شعبان, ; born 3 January 1994), known as Omar Bugiel, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AFC Wimbledon and the Lebanon national team.

Bugiel began his senior career in England at Selsey in 2011. After a season, he moved to Burgess Hill Town, before moving back to Selsey in 2013. Bugiel then played for Bognor Regis Town in 2013–14, and Worthing—with whom he scored over 50 goals—between 2014 and 2017. In February 2017 Bugiel joined National League side Forest Green Rovers, helping them to EFL League Two promotion. After a season in the English fourth tier, Bugiel moved to Bromley—first on loan, then on a permanent deal—before joining Sutton United, helping them also gain promotion to League Two.

Born in Germany, Bugiel holds Lebanese nationality through his father. He made his international debut with the Lebanon national team in 2017, and played in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

Early life
Bugiel was born in Berlin, Germany, to Lebanese father Khaled and a Polish mother Ewa. He holds dual German-Lebanese citizenship, having obtained a Lebanese passport in 2017.

Having initially began playing cageball, Bugiel moved to Munich aged 11, and joined the youth team of 1860 Munich; he was released by the club in 2009. He moved to England the following year aged 16 with the aim of learning English, and enrolled at Chichester College in Sussex.

Bugiel was tutored by one of Paul Hinshelwood's sons—also named Paul—who noticed Bugiel's football skills while playing five-a-side at the college. Bugiel lodged at Hinshelwood's house for two and a half years, while part of the youth team at Chichester City.

Early career
Bugiel joined Selsey in 2011, coached by another one of Hinshelwood's sons (Adam). He played until 2013, including a one-year stint at Burgess Hill Town in 2012–13, before transferring to Bognor Regis Town.

In 2014, he moved Worthing, also coached by Adam Hinshelwood. He had prolific goalscoring form over four years at the Rebels, scoring 45 league goals in 103 appearances, and hitting double figures in each of his last three seasons.

Forest Green Rovers
Bugiel was signed by Forest Green Rovers in February 2017 for an undisclosed fee. Bugiel scored a goal and made an assist on his debut on 11 February, in a 2–0 win over Boreham Wood. He was part of the Forest Green side that were victorious in the National League play-offs at the end of the season, helping them to promotion to the EFL League Two. He made his English Football League debut against Barnet on 5 August 2017, becoming the first Lebanese international to do so.

Bromley
On 4 January 2018, Bugiel joined National League side Bromley on loan for the remainder of the campaign. He scored in Bromley's 2017–18 FA Trophy final defeat to Brackley Town in Wembley. Bugiel was released by Forest Green at the end of the 2017–18 season. On 1 July 2018, it was announced that Bugiel signed for Bromley on a two-year contract.

2019–20 season
On 3 June 2019, Sutton United announced the signing of Bugiel. He scored his first National League goal for the club on 26 October 2019, in a 3–2 home defeat to Ebbsfleet United. In December 2019, Bugiel scored in both the first round and the replay of the 2019–20 FA Trophy matches against Dagenham & Redbrige, with his team however failing to qualify to the next round. On 21 December 2019, Bugiel scored a hat-trick in the league against Wrexham in a 3–1 home win.

The next matchday, on Boxing Day, he scored a brace against Woking in a 2–0 away win in the league, with his first goal being a 25-yard volley in the first minute. Bugiel scored seven goals in the last four matches in all competitions. He ended the season with seven goals in 30 league games—10 in 34 in all competitions.

2020–21 season
Bugiel scored his first goal of the 2020–21 season on 3 October 2020, against Maidenhead United, in a 3–0 win in the first matchday. His first assist of the season came on 27 October, helping his side win 2–1 away from home to Yeovil Town. Bugiel scored in two consecutive matchdays, on 17 and 21 November, against Dagenham & Redbridge and Wealdstone respectively. He scored five league goals in 37 games, and helped Sutton United finish first in the National League, gaining promotion to the EFL League Two.

2021–2023
On the opening day of the 2021–22 EFL League Two season, Bugiel scored Sutton's first-ever Football League goal, a header against his former-side Forest Green to level the scores; the match eventually ended in a 2–1 defeat.

On 30 July 2022, Bugiel scored in the first matchday of the 2022–23 EFL League Two, in a 1–1 draw against Newport County; he scored on the opening day of the season for Sutton in all four seasons at the club.

He was released at the end of the 2022–23 season.

AFC Wimbledon
On 1 June 2023, League Two side AFC Wimbledon announced the signing of Bugiel, with the contract becoming valid from 1 July. He scored his first goal for Wimbledon in a 2–1 win over Coventry City in the EFL Cup on 9 August 2023. Bugiel would score a hat-trick and supply an assist for a Ronan Curtis goal in a 5–1 victory over Walsall.

International career
Eligible to play for the Lebanon national team through his father, Bugiel was spotted by Lebanon manager Miodrag Radulović following his goalscoring form at Forest Green. He obtained a Lebanese passport in 2017 to represent the national team.

Bugiel was first called up in May 2017 for an AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Malaysia, but did not feature in the 2–1 win. Bugiel was called up again for the next qualifier in North Korea on 5 September 2017. He made his debut for Lebanon on 9 November 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 victory over Singapore. Bugiel's first goal also came as a substitute, scoring the lone goal in a friendly against Jordan on 6 September 2018.

In December 2023, Bugiel was included in the Lebanese squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

Personal life
Bugiel's uncle, Kida Khodr Ramadan, is a Lebanese-born German actor.

International

 * Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bugiel goal.

Honours
Forest Green Rovers
 * National League play-offs: 2017

Bromley
 * FA Trophy runner-up: 2017–18

Sutton United
 * National League: 2020–21
 * EFL Trophy runner-up: 2021–22