JEDDAH: Al-Ittihad and Saudi national team striker Fahad Al-Muwallad is being investigated by the Saudi Arabia Anti-Doping Committee amid allegations that he failed a drug test, according to “Action with Walid,” the daily sports program broadcast on MBC action.
This marks the second time in three years that Al-Muwallad has failed an out-of-competition drug test. He accepted a one-year ban from SAADC on May 9, 2019 due to the use of prohibited substances during the team’s match against Al-Nasr in April 2018, within the Saudi Professional League.
The daily program revealed on Thursday that Al-Ittihad football club, which sits on top of the standings table of the Saudi Professional League, had received a notice two days earlier from the Saudi Doping Commission that the test on its striker returned a positive result and the final decision would be made after a hearing session.
The player and club are cooperating and responding directly with the SAADC. The player is now subject to a playing suspension locally and internationally while the matter is under investigation.
No official information about the suspension and the nature of the doping violation has been made by the SAADC until now.
A positive test for a banned substance that is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list can lead to a four-year suspension.
The 27-year-old Al-Muwallad is one of the Kingdom’s most celebrated players, having scored the goal against Japan that took Saudi Arabia to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
He started his professional career with Al-Ittihad when he was 16, and at 18 Al-Muwallad made his first team debut and scored his first senior goal for Saudi Arabia against China in an Asian Cup qualifier. From there he has become a regular squad inclusion for the Saudi national team.
He also played for Spanish club Levante UD in the final minutes of the league clash away to Leganes in 2018, when on loan ahead of the World Cup.