Pyramids FC playmaker Ibrahim Hassan has been suspended by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over doping, but the Egyptian club lodged an appeal after making sure of the player’s good intention.
The 30-year-old was excluded from the club’s preliminary squad for the new season due to a recent ban struck against him by the African football governing body, according to the club’s football director Hany Said.
“Hassan failed a doping test following the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final win over Guinea’s AC Horoya on 20 October. Few days later, CAF informed us of the suspension,” Said explained in a statement published by the club on Saturday.
“The usual procedure is suspending the player for three months until a hearing session."
“The player admitted that he took a drug only for medicinal reasons but without consulting the club’s doctor," Said explained.
“The club decided to lodge an appeal to CAF after making sure of the Hassan’s good intention, and the appeal was already forwarded by CAF to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the first hearing session will be on 6 December,” the statement added.
Hassan, who joined Pyramids FC the summer of 2019 from Zamalek, has scored five goals and provided seven assists in 37 appearances with the club in different competitions last season.
Pyramids' physician prepared all the documents supporting Hassan’s position, while the club is expressing big confidence in the player’s commitment and asking WADA to lift the ban as soon as possible, according to the statment.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: