The past few hours have seen a development in the crisis of Ramadan Sobhy, the Egyptian Pyramids FC player, after the relevant authorities decided to accept the appeal against the one-year prison sentence issued against him in the forgery case, with the sentence suspended for 3 years. This draws the curtain on one of the most complicated cases that has pursued the player recently.
It was confirmed in radio statements on an Egyptian program that the acceptance of the appeal has officially ended the forgery case from a legal standpoint, expressing hope to see the player back on the pitch after a long absence.
The Fate of the Doping Case Remains Pending
The developments in the doping case were also addressed, which resulted in the player receiving a 4-year suspension by a decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It was clarified that the file is now before the Swiss Federal Tribunal, which does not have room for compromise in such cases.
It was indicated that the Federal Tribunal’s decisions are limited to either accepting or definitively rejecting the appeal submitted by the player’s lawyer, without the possibility of reducing the penalty. It was confirmed that everyone is awaiting the case to be added to the court’s agenda in the coming period to definitively settle the player’s future.
Player’s Lawyer: Hope Remains Despite the Difficulty of the Situation
For his part, Ramadan Sobhy’s lawyer confirmed that hope still exists in the case of his client’s suspension, despite the defense team’s awareness of the difficulty of having appeals accepted before the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
It was stated during a phone intervention on an Egyptian program that the appeal and challenge against the suspension decision issued by the CAS court has been formally submitted. It was pointed out that if accepted, the player would be entitled to return to the pitches once again.
It was explained that the acceptance rate for appeals before the Federal Tribunal is very low. However, the defense team is relying on the reasoning of the verdict, which indicated there was tampering with the doping sample despite its positive result, considering this an important element in the appeal process.
It was added that the appeal was formally submitted last Monday, with the possibility that the Federal Tribunal may decide to send the case back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for reconsideration.
Background of the Suspension Decision
The International Anti-Doping Agency had decided, on November 26 last year, to suspend Ramadan Sobhy for 4 years after convicting him of tampering with his doping sample, following the confirmation of the positive result of the sample taken on April 3 last year.
In an attempt to overturn or reduce the penalty, the player’s defense formally objected to the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport by filing a lawsuit with the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
It is worth noting that the Egyptian Anti-Doping Organization had issued a decision in April last year to suspend Ramadan Sobhy and notified the Egyptian Football Association, before he was temporarily allowed to return to participate with his team pending a final ruling in the case, which later ended with the suspension decision issued by the international agency.
Between a positive legal development and an awaited decisive fate, Ramadan Sobhy’s future remains pending on the decision of the Federal Tribunal, in a case that is being widely followed within the Egyptian sports community.
