Moustafa El Sirty Returns to Squash Courts After Successful Representation by Meysan
Egyptian squash champion Moustafa El Sirty is back on the court after facing a potential two-year suspension for an inadvertent doping violation. The International Testing Agency (ITA) initially sought the ban following a positive test for terbutaline, a substance found in cough medicine and prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
El Sirty, who had been suffering from a severe cold during a competition in November 2020, was prescribed the medicine by his long-term physician. Unaware that the medicine contained the prohibited substance, El Sirty voluntarily entered into a provisional suspension in March 2023 while awaiting a final decision from the ITA.
The Meysan team, including sports disputes specialists Tarek Badawy and Salma Abdelaziz, was retained shortly before the deadline to submit El Sirty’s formal defense to the ITA. Using precedents from several anti-doping agencies of sports federations and decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), the team was able to convince the ITA that El Sirty had committed an innocent mistake.
The ITA ultimately reduced the contemplated two-year ban to six months only, to be applied retroactively. Given El Sirty’s voluntary provisional suspension, the athlete was allowed to return to the court immediately upon signing an acceptance of consequences agreement with the ITA, on behalf of the World Squash Federation.
El Sirty’s return to the courts was celebrated with a victory at the Madeira International 2023, the first tournament he competed in after being cleared to play. He expressed his gratitude to the ITA for their understanding and commended Meysan for their empathy and professional approach to dealing with complicated sports disputes.
Meysan is one of the first law firms in the region to establish a specialist sports team, and its team includes sports law experts with both local and international expertise.
Meysan, a regional pioneer in establishing a dedicated sports law team, boasts experts with local and international experience. At the 2023 Legalcommunity MENA Awards, Tarek Badawy, a cornerstone of the firm’s arbitration practice, was named “Lawyer of the Year” in Arbitration. His track record includes successfully managing numerous global cases, with a notable multimillion-dollar telecom dispute securing a strategic victory for his client and further solidifying his reputation in the field.
