( CNN ) -- The European Tour has dropped Bahrain from its 2012 schedule . The second Volvo Golf Champions tournament was due to be played at the Royal Golf Club , a course designed by British golfer Colin Montgomerie , in January next year . But following a crackdown on anti-government protestors that left at least 32 people dead the European Tour has decided to drop Bahrain from the schedule , for now at least . `` With work still ongoing to resolve issues in Bahrain and the need to confirm the venue by the end of July 2011 , the difficult decision to postpone the event for 2012 was taken , '' the Tour said in a statement . But Bahrain would , it confirmed , remain on its roster . `` We know that Bahrain is working hard to address the issues it has faced in recent months , as well as to reach out to the international community , '' said George O'Grady from the European Tour . `` We , together with the European Tour players , look forward to returning and building on that first , very successful , event in the future . '' The postponement of next January 's tournament will be seen as another blow to a Bahrain government keen to show the world that stability has returned to the island following months of anti-government unrest . In June motor sport 's governing body , the FIA , cancelled Bahrain 's 2011 F1 Grand Prix amid security fears . Red Bull 's Australian driver Mark Webber raised ethical concerns about hosting a major sporting event in the Kingdom . `` In my personal opinion , the sport should have taken a much firmer stance earlier this year rather than constantly delaying its decision in the hope of being able to reschedule it in 2011 , '' Webber wrote on his personal web site in June . `` It would have sent a very clear message about F1 's position on something as fundamental as human rights and how it deals with moral issues . '' FIFA has also asked the Bahraini authorities to explain the jailing of several national football team players . Alaa Hubail , a striker who played 52 times for his country , was sentenced to two years in prison for his involvement in `` illegal protests '' . A spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the sentences being handed down to protestors . `` There are serious concerns that the due process rights of the defendants , many of whom are well-known human rights defenders , were not respected and the trials appear to bear the marks of political persecution , '' said Ravina Shamdasani . When asked by CNN about the arrest of the footballers the Bahraini FA confirmed several had been arrested , but claimed they had been treated fairly according to the law . `` The players have been arrested , investigated and detained for having opposed the general laws and bylaws of the country , '' the vice-president of the Bahraini Football Association , Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa al Khalifa , told CNN back in June before Hubail 's sentence was handed down . `` The fact that they happen to be footballers and national team players is highly irrelevant . ''
The European Tour drops Bahrain from its 2012 schedule . Volvo Golf Champions was due to be played at Bahrain 's Royal Golf Club . - March 25 : A man is killed and two others are injured when a car bomb explodes outside the home of an opposition politician in the southern city of Aden. The postponement follows cancellation of Bahrain 's F1 GP .