Ramadan Sobhi sample was manipulated, says Egyptian anti-doping chief

Ramadan Sobhi’s urine sample was manipulated and his four-year suspension is the maximum penalty for tampering, according to Hazem Khamis, president of the Egyptian Anti-Doping Organisation.

Speaking to Al Nahar TV, Khamis said the sample tested from the Pyramids player had properties that differed from normal human urine.

“The components of Ramadan Sobhi’s sample were somewhat different from human urine, including its density. That was the problem from the beginning,” Khamis said.

“The logical explanation is that the sample was mixed with another substance at the time in order to manipulate it.”

Sobhi was initially suspended while an investigation took place. The organisation’s independent hearing committee later lifted the suspension without issuing a penalty or declaring him either guilty or innocent at that stage.

Khamis said the World Anti-Doping Agency rejected that decision, while the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the original four-year suspension.

The Swiss Federal Court has since rejected Sobhi’s appeal against the ban. He will therefore be unable to take part in any football-related activity until 2029.

The suspension prevents him from training, using sports facilities or playing for any professional team during the ban. Khamis also warned that any player who trains alongside Sobhi could face a suspension because doing so would be considered a breach of procedure.

“The four-year suspension is the maximum penalty a player can receive for manipulating a urine sample,” he said.

Khamis added that the sanction could have been reduced if Sobhi had admitted the violation from the outset and demonstrated that it was unintentional, for example because of illness.

“If the player admits the violation was caused by ignorance or was unintentional because he was ill, for example, the penalties are reduced after proving good faith and the absence of intent,” he said. “In that case, the suspension would be between one and two years.”

What happened?

The Egyptian Anti-Doping Organisation suspended Sobhi after irregularities were found in a sample collected during a doping test. Khamis previously said there had also been problems relating to some of the sample’s codes.

“Ramadan Sobhi’s sample contained an issue with some matters related to the codes,” he said.

The hearing committee then lifted the suspension pending the conclusion of the case. The World Anti-Doping Agency and the Egyptian Anti-Doping Organisation both appealed against that decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Khamis said the sample’s analysis showed that it did not belong to the human composition, adding that this could indicate either manipulation of the sample or the use of a prohibited anti-doping method.

He described the case as the first of its kind in Egypt and said any resulting punishment would apply to both the player and the Egyptian organisation. He also said he did not know whether Sobhi had requested financial compensation from the organisation.

On Tuesday, 16 July 2024, the Egyptian Anti-Doping Organisation announced that it had lifted Sobhi’s suspension. That decision was subsequently challenged, sending the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Former goalkeeper Ekramy El-Shahat previously said he had been in contact with Mahmoud El Khatib, who had assigned Abdullah Shehata to work with Sobhi’s lawyer, Hany Zahran, and a Swiss office on the case before the Swiss Federal Court.