By Duncan Mackay

Khaled Addulaziz_Al_Eid_recites_passages_of_koranApril 28 - Saudi Arabia, already at the centre of controversy because of its refusal to pick any female competitors for London 2012, is now embroiled in a drugs scandal.


Two top Saudi showjumpers face being banned from the Games after being accused of using a banned drug on their horses, Horse & Hound have reported.

They include Sydney Olympic bronze medallist Khaled Addulaziz Al Eid (pictured), whose horse Vanhoeve allegedly tested positive for phenylbutazone and oxyphenbutazone at an event in Riyadh, which took place between November 30 and December 3 last year.

Abdullah Al Sharbatly's ride, Lobster 43, tested positive for the same substances at an event in Al Ain, which took place between February 9 and 11.

Al Sharbatly won silver at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky and both riders were expected to be on the Saudi team for London, Horse & Hound reported. 

The substances are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and deemed controlled medications under international rules.

The riders appeared before an FEI tribunal earlier this month, International Equestrian Federation legal counsel Liza Lazarus told Horse & Hound.

A decision is due by the end of May.

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