Egyptian footballer Ramadan Sobhi’s long-running anti-doping case has reached its latest chapter. On September 20, 2026, the Swiss Federal Court rejected his appeal against the four-year suspension handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), leaving the ban in place until 2029.
So, how did a case that initially ended with Sobhi cleared by an Egyptian hearing committee turn into a four-year suspension? Here’s the story.
It Started With a Doping Test in 2023
The case goes back to August 21, 2023, when Sobhi underwent an out-of-competition doping test during training with Pyramids FC.
The first urine sample was found to have characteristics inconsistent with human urine based on several scientific indicators, leading to an “atypical finding” at a laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the international body responsible for setting and monitoring global anti-doping rules.
CAS later found that the sample had been adulterated by adding another liquid. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the international sports tribunal that handles disputes in sport, later ruled that this amounted to the use of a prohibited method under anti-doping rules.
Sobhi Was Provisionally Suspended
In March 2024, Sobhi was notified of a suspected anti-doping rule violation.
He was provisionally suspended on May 26, 2024, while the case was investigated and hearings were held before the Egyptian Anti-Doping Organization’s hearing committee.
Then, in July 2024, the Egyptian committee ruled that the violation had not been established and lifted his provisional suspension.
For the moment, it looked like the case was over.
WADA Appealed
It wasn’t.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed the Egyptian committee’s decision to CAS in September 2024, seeking to have the decision overturned and a sanction imposed.
The case was registered as CAS 2024/A/10861, with WADA, the Egyptian Anti-Doping Organization and Sobhi as the parties.
Sobhi’s legal team challenged WADA’s case and presented its arguments before the sports court.
CAS Overturned The Egyptian Decision
After examining the case, CAS issued its ruling on November 26, 2025.
The court overturned the Egyptian hearing committee’s decision and found that Sobhi had committed an anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.2. CAS imposed a four-year period of ineligibility, with time already spent under provisional suspension counting toward the ban.
In other words, what had initially been not established by the Egyptian hearing committee was ultimately found by CAS to constitute the use or attempted use of a prohibited method.
Sobhi Took The Case To Switzerland
Following the CAS ruling, Sobhi’s legal team appealed to the Swiss Federal Court, seeking to have the decision annulled.
The appeal was not a new hearing of the entire doping case. The Federal Court’s review focused on legal and procedural grounds surrounding the CAS decision.
After months of proceedings, the court rejected Sobhi’s appeal on September 20, 2026, leaving the four-year suspension in place.
What Happens Now?
According to the case information reported following the ruling, Sobhi’s suspension runs until October 6, 2029, with his previous period of provisional suspension counted toward the penalty.
His future with Pyramids FC is also uncertain. Sobhi was under contract with the club until 2028, but reports have said the contract was suspended following the ban, leaving the club’s next steps unclear.
After more than three years, the case has now gone through an out-of-competition test, a provisional suspension, an Egyptian hearing, a WADA appeal, a CAS ruling and finally an appeal before the Swiss Federal Court.
For now, the final outcome is a four-year ban that keeps Ramadan Sobhi ineligible to compete until October 2029.
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