Saudi striker Fahad al-Muwallad in intensive care after fall

Saudi international striker Fahad al-Muwallad has been placed in intensive care after plummeting off the balcony of his residence in Dubai, Saudi and Emirati authorities said Sunday.

The 30-year-old, who played in the 2018 World Cup but was withdrawn from the 2022 squad due to a doping ban, fell from his second-storey flat while on holiday in the emirate according to the Dubai government media office.

It added Muwallad as a result was "in intensive care at a hospital in Dubai".

The Saudi consulate in Dubai confirmed in a statement on X early Sunday it was informed of an "accident at (Muwallad's) private residence... on Thursday".

The consulate "is following the investigations conducted with the police" in Dubai, it said in a statement posted on X.

Muwallad plays for Saudi side Al-Shabab, whose captain travelled to Dubai to check on Muwallad's condition, the club said.

Saudi newspaper Al-Madina meanwhile pointed to "criminal suspicions", citing "informed sources".

Before joining Al-Shabab, the striker played for Jeddah's Al-Ittihad and enjoyed a successful international career, scoring 17 goals in 74 international matches.

He has, though, also had a chequered career in terms of doping, serving two bans.

The first in May 2019 and the latest between March 2022 and September 2023, after testing positive for furosemide, a diuretic that masks the presence of anabolic steroids and is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).