Al Ahly steps in to support Pyramids FC forward Ramadan Sobhi

Mahmoud El Khatib, president of Al Ahly, has taken a surprising step by assigning the club’s legal team to defend Pyramids star Ramadan Sobhi in his current legal battles, despite the player leaving Al Ahly in 2020.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has issued a four-year suspension against Sobhi over alleged tampering with his doping sample, while he also faces a separate case on accusations of exam fraud at an educational institute in Abu El Nomros.​

Sobhi, a former Al Ahly winger and academy product, remains in custody until 30 December, when a verdict is expected in the forgery case. Al Ahly explained in an official statement that, “based on the club’s long-standing principles of supporting its sons,” El Khatib has appointed Shady El Barqouqi, the club’s legal adviser, to join Sobhi’s defense team as he is considered one of Al Ahly’s own.​

The club also tasked Dr. Abdallah Shehata, Al Ahly’s sports legal consultant, with assisting in the doping case in coordination with the player’s lawyers.

Investigations into the doping matter revealed suspicious irregularities in Sobhi’s sample taken after a 2021 CAF Confederation Cup match, leading to the harsh ban and the annulment of his results from that period by the sports court.