Keita Baldé has opened up about the controversial episode that led to his suspension and ultimately deprived him of a place in Senegal’s squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
In an interview with Post United, the Monza forward expressed deep frustration over what he described as an “absurd” situation, which arose not from a doping offence, but from a misunderstanding with a doping control official while he was still playing in Italy.
“People clearly don’t know the truth,” Baldé said, recounting the incident. “I was suspended for having an argument with the doping control officer, not for doping or smoking a pipe. We had just lost a match 4-0, but the officer was acting funny, asking for my jersey and photos. And I told him, ‘Stay professional and mind your own business.’ Then he lost contact with me for a few minutes because the coach had closed the locker room door since we had just lost badly.”
That exchange triggered a three-month suspension, which ruled him out of contention for Qatar 2022.
Baldé, who had moved to Spartak Moscow after leaving Cagliari, revealed how painful it was to miss what would have been his second appearance at the global tournament.
“I received a letter notifying me of my suspension. I thought ‘that’s very good (laughs)’. What hurt my heart the most was the fact that I missed my second World Cup,” he said. “The coach called me to tell me that he needed me. But I missed the World Cup in Qatar because of this absurdity.”
The former Inter Milan and Lazio player contrasted his situation with other high-profile doping cases, questioning the severity of his punishment and suggesting that consistency in disciplinary action is lacking.
“Yes, if I had done something wrong, like doping, amen,” he remarked. “But it happened to me, for this absurdity. Three months of suspension, really? Look at players like Paul Pogba or Papu Gómez. My suspension wasn’t for taking a drug. But it hit me while we were playing in the World Cup. I was supposed to go there, it would have been my second World Cup, and I wanted to play in four in my career.”
Baldé’s remarks bring renewed attention to the opaque processes surrounding player suspensions and highlight the emotional toll such decisions can take on professionals at the highest level.
For the 29-year-old Senegalese international, the 2022 World Cup remains a missed opportunity caused by a moment he continues to find both unjust and inexplicable.
