Mohamed Salah’s teammate, once called the Egyptian Messi, has been banned for four years for doping

Egypt international Ramadan Sobhi, who helped Pyramids to its first CAF Champions League title last season and previously played in the English Premier League, has been banned for four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for anti-doping rule violations, Egypt’s anti-doping authority said on Wednesday.

“We have received an official letter confirming the four-year suspension of Ramadan Sobhi in a doping case,” Hazem Khamis, head of Egypt’s Anti-Doping Organization, told reporters.

Sobhi’s suspension stems from allegations of doping and sample tampering, the agency said.

Sobhi has not yet responded to the sanction. His lawyer was quoted by local media as saying an appeal to the Swiss Federal Court was being prepared.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed the initial lifting of Sobhi’s provisional suspension, which briefly allowed him to return to play before the case was referred to CAS.

The 28-year-old remains in custody in a separate case. A criminal court in Giza has ordered his arrest pending trial on academic fraud charges, including forging documents and paying someone to take exams on his behalf at a tourism and hotel institute. Sobhi has denied wrongdoing and the next hearing is scheduled for December 30.

Sobhi, who has made 37 appearances for Egypt, started his career at Al-Ahly before moving to England in 2016, where he played for Stoke City and Huddersfield Town. When he arrived at Stoke he was dubbed the ‘Egyptian Messi’.

Sobhi joined Pyramids in 2020 and played a key role in their continental triumph last term.

Published on November 27, 2025