He falls from a balcony and ends up in intensive care: mystery hovers in Dubai around a former international footballer

Une enquête est en cours pour déterminer les raisons de sa chute. EPA – STR

Le journal saoudien Al-Madina a évoqué des "soupçons criminels". 

Former Saudi international Fahad Al-Muwallad has been hospitalized in intensive care in Dubai after falling from the balcony of his private residence in the Gulf emirate, Saudi and Emirati authorities said on Sunday.

The 30-year-old striker, who participated in the 2018 World Cup after being briefly loaned to Spanish club Levante, has been playing for Al-Shabab in Riyadh since 2022.

The Saudi consulate in Dubai said in a statement published on its X account on Saturday night that it had been informed of the accident that occurred at the player's private residence in the city on Thursday afternoon, and said it was “following the investigation conducted by the police” in the emirate.

Excluded from the Saudi selection for the World Cup in Qatar

The official media office in Dubai said that Al-Muwallad was “in intensive care in one of the hospitals in Dubai", after falling from the second-floor balcony of his home where he was on a short vacation. Al-Shabab said it had dispatched its president to Dubai to" "assess the health" of its winger.

Saudi newspaper Al-Madina cited "criminal suspicions" , citing "well-informed sources". Before joining Al-Shabab, Fahad Al-Muwallad played for Al-Ittihad Jeddah, where he scored 17 goals in 74 international appearances. He was suspended twice for doping, once for one year in May 2019, then again between March 2022 and September 2023, due to a positive test for furosemide, a diuretic that masks the presence of anabolic steroids, which is on the list of banned substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

He had been excluded from the Saudi selection for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.