AFC reject Jordan's negligence claims
The Asian Football Confederation have rejected Jordan's claims they mistreated Ahmad Hayel during a drug test at the Asian Cup on Monday.
Jordan's claims that striker Ahmad Hayel was dehydrated due to unacceptable conditions during a drug test at Suncorp Stadium have been rubbished by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The Jordan Football Association (JFA) revealed on Wednesday that they had filed a formal complaint to the AFC, after Hayel allegedly returned to the team hotel suffering dehydration, following his side's 1-0 loss to Iraq in the Asian Cup.
Hayel was randomly selected for a doping control test after the game in Brisbane and the JFA claimed he was placed in a room that was too cold for four hours, but the AFC dismissed any suggestion of negligence by their medical staff.
In a statement, the AFC claimed that Hayel's doping test "was conducted as per the AFC Anti-Doping Regulations".
The statement continued: "The player was unable to complete the required procedure due to his dehydrated condition.
"He [Hayel] had some dizziness, felt nausea and vomited after his second attempt, which was an hour after his first attempt, to give [a] urine sample for the test and as such the AFC Medical Officer, Dr Paisal Chantarapitak decided to discontinue the doping control procedure on the said player.
Dr Chantarapitak said that the usual procedure was followed as per the regulations and the facilities and equipments provided for the AFC Asian Cup in Australia are world-class."
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Hayel played the entire 90 minutes in his team's opening game in Group D but the JFA have argued the striker may be unavailable for Jordan's next match against Palestine on Friday.
The JFA blamed the AFC's decision to only provide water, rather than any liquids with electrolytes, which help rehydration, for Hayel's condition but Dr Chantarapitak insisted he did nothing wrong.
"As per the procedure, the AFC Medical Officer always recommends players selected for doping control to drink water as per normal practice, especially for the player who has played for 90 minutes," he said.
"It is at the player's discretion to follow the recommendation or not. The player is not forced to drink plenty of water in short time.
"The assistant team doctor of [the] Jordan national team was present during the entire doping procedure."
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression
‘England have the players to win the World Cup – it’ll be tough for Thomas Tuchel to do a bad job, with the squad he has at his disposal’ Former Three Lions winger backs new boss after gentle qualifying draw