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 on 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The 30-year-old, who played in the 2018 World Cup but was withdrawn from the 2022 squad due to a doping ban, fell from his second-storey flat while on holiday in the emirate according to the Dubai government media office.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 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.
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 Shabab, the striker played for Jeddah’s 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).
Ten-man Werder Bremen win at Mainz
Derrick Koehn’s 69th minute goal lifted Werder Bremen to a 2-1 win at Mainz in Bundesliga, despite having to play the final half an hour with 10 men.
Marvin Ducksch gave Bremen the lead from the spot after Justin Njinmah was fouled in the box, with the injured player taken from the field as a result of the collision. The hosts hit back through Jae-sung Lee, who tapped in after goalkeeper Michael Zetterer spilled the ball at his feet.
Bremen’s chances of taking all three points looked dim when Marco Friedl saw straight red for a last-man foul with 60 minutes remaining, but Koehn’s goal on debut just nine minutes later put them in the driver’s seat. Zetter redeemed himself for his error with a string of late saves to keep Bremen on track for their first win of the season.
Earlier, goals from Marius Wolf, Phillip Tietz and Yusuf Kabadayi took Augsburg to a 3-1 Bundesliga home win over promoted St Pauli.