CAF punish Dagdoug for doping

Houssem Dagdoug of Esperance during the CAF Champions League 2022/23 match between Zamalek and Esperance held at Borg El Arab Stadium in Cairo, Egypt on 07 March 2023 ©Weam Mostafa/BackpagePix

by Staff Reporter

Sunday Apr 30, 2023. 10:48

ES Tunis defender Houssem Dagdoug will not play again this season after being hit with a three-month ban by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for doping.

The 24-year-old left-back failed a drugs test on matchday 1 of the CAF Champions League group stages as Nabil Maaloul’s side beat Al Merrikh 1-0, although he was an unused substitute in that game.

Dagdoug went on to feature in the group games against CR Belouizdad and Zamalek before the Blood & Gold announced in March that he had tested positive for a banned substance.

The Tunisian player has not been involved in any of the club’s matches since the revelation and CAF decided to suspend him retroactively from March 11 to June 11.

Dagdoug will therefore miss Esperance’s semi-final tie against Al Ahly and the final should they beat the 10-time African champions over the two legs next month.

“The CAF Disciplinary Committee recognized that the player had not acted in bad faith and that he had taken medication without knowing that it contained a prohibited substance. The suspension is therefore retroactive from March 11, 2023 to June 11, 2023,” a statement from the Tunisian club read.