A judge denied the 25-year-old bail and gave his lawyers until April 5 to file a written appeal before the next hearing scheduled for April 22.

Al-Araibi pleaded not to be sent back to Bahrain, where he fears he will be tortured and possibly killed, as he arrived at the court today.

Al-Araibi, who fled Bahrain in 2014, has been detained in Thailand since he was arrested in November and campaigners are pleading for him to be sent back to Australia, where he has refugee status.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2014 for allegedly vandalising a police station during Arab Spring protests in Bahrain, charges he strongly denies.

Representatives from 13 countries were at the hearing, including Francis Awaritefe, who was in attendance on behalf of FIFPro, the global players' union.

Craig Foster, the former Australian international who has led the campaign for his release, was among those who voiced support for Al-Araibi prior to his appearance in court.

The court will decide whether he should be extradited back to Bahrain or be allowed to fly home to Australia.

It is not yet known how long the process will take.

The case has attracted global interest and has sparked an international campaign to secure his safe return to Australia.

Sports bodies such as FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation have urged Thailand to release Al-Araibi but have been criticised for failing to do enough.

AFC President Shaikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa has faced calls to resign as he has a perceived conflict of interest owing to his stature within Bahrain's royal family.

Al-Araibi claims his imprisonment is Shaikh Salman taking revenge after he openly criticised the FIFA vice-president, who unsuccessfully ran for the top job at world football's governing body in 2015.

Campaign group #NewFIFANow has called on FIFA to immediately sanction Thailand under its statutes, which state the organisation is "committed to respecting all internationally recognised human rights and shall strive to promote protection of these rights".

"By keeping Mr Al-Araibi in detention, Bahrain and Thailand are responsible for unacceptable flaunting of human rights obligations," British Member of Parliament Damian Collins said.

"If FIFA does not do anything about it, then FIFA stand condemned also.

"This is a case where action speaks louder than words and the world football community wants action from its governing body."