Saudi striker al-Muwallad in intensive care after falling off balcony

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The 30-year-old, who played in the 2018 World Cup but was withdrawn from the 2022 squad due to a doping ban, fell from his second-storey flat while on holiday in the emirate according to the Dubai government media office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

Osimhen loan move not entirely football related – Hamsik

Former Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik has suggested that Victor Osimhen’s loan move from the club to Galatasaray is not an entirely football-related transfer, adding that he feels sorry the Nigeria international left Diego Armando Maradona Stadium,.

Osimhen joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan after failed moves to Chelsea and Saudi giants Al Ahli on transfer deadline day.

The loan deal is without an option to buy, while the 25-year-old is also said to have signed a contract extension with Napoli until 2027.

The 25-year-old was frozen out of Napoli’s squad after his failed transfer, with the Galatasaray move offering him a route back to first-team football.

In place of Osimhen, Napoli secured the services of Romelo Lukaku, and Hamsik believes the club’s transfer dealings have been convincing.

“I’m sorry Osimhen left, but it’s probably not entirely related to football,” he said.

“I am not involved in this, and Napoli signed a valuable replacement. Lukaku is a top striker and can easily score 20 goals.”

Osimhen signed a contract extension with the Italian club last December through 2026 with a reported release clause of €130m.

Osimhen was the subject of considerable transfer interest from around Europe this summer, but Chelsea’s and Paris Saint-Germain’s attempts to sign the forward fell through.

The player was also heavily linked with Al Ahli, with sources telling ESPN that Napoli had accepted an €80m offer from the Saudi Pro League side, but Osimhen expressed doubts about leaving European football.

Napoli also requested an additional €5m, which infuriated the Saudi Arabians.

I am Still In Charge As Super Eagles Interim Coach Says Eguavoen

Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation, Austin Eguavoen, has denied stepping down as the interim coach of the Super Eagles after the two 2025 AFCON qualifiers against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Eguavoen was appointed by the NFF to take charge of the two games following the inability of the federation to secure the services of German coach, Bruno Labbadia, over what they call stringent German tax laws.

“In the event, Technical Director of Nigeria Football Federation, Coach Augustine Eguavoen, will now take charge of the Super Eagles for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Uyo, September 7) and Rwanda (Kigali, September 10),” the statement announcing his appointment had partly read.

The 59-year-old led Nigeria to a convincing 3-0 win over the Benin Republic in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, last Saturday before being held to a goaless draw in the second game of the series by Rwanda on Tuesday.

After Tuesday’s goaless draw in Kigali, Eguavoen was said to have stepped down as interim coach but the gaffer has denied the reports ahead of next month’s AFCON qualifiers double header against Libya.

“It’s quite unfortunate that people just trigger something that is not correct. And the situation we are in now, we don’t need negative stories,” Eguavoen said on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja in a media chat.

“I only talked about sitting down with the hierarchy of the federation after these two games and we will see how to go about prosecuting the next games.

“But when I saw that story I was worried. Whatever people are reading out there aren’t correct. I’m still very much in charge. I’m the Technical Director of the NFF, saddled with the responsibility of taking the Super Eagles at this moment,” he said.