On June 19, 2025, The International Esports Federation released a statement revealing that one of Tekken’s most prolific players, Arslan Ash, had been sanctioned for steroid use.
While the news was initially published without much fanfare, the greater fighting game community began to take notice in early July, with many confused by the timing of the announcement.
THE IESF claimed that Arslan had allegedly violated anti-doping rules during the 2022 World Esports Championship, testing positive for anabolic steroids on December 10 of that year.
The substances in question were 19-norandrosterone, 19-noretiocholanolone, stanozolol metabolites, and metandienone metabolites, which are banned by the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA).
As a result, the IESF says Arslan received a two-year ban from April 26, 2023 to April 25, 2025. All his results from the 2022 World Esports Championship, including his awards, medals, points, prize money and titles were stripped, including those from any events between December 10, 2022 – April 26, 2023.
This means that Arslan’s achievements at Evo Japan 2023, Evo Las Vegas 2023 & 2024, as well as the 2023 Tekken World Tour Finals in New Orleans were essentially moot.
The fighting game community was puzzled by steroids being banned in the IESF, as these types of substances aren’t widely known to enhance gaming performance in comparison to medication like Adderall, for instance.
Arslan Ash sanctions questioned by Esports Integrity Commission
The IESF’s ruling quickly went viral, prompting the Esports Integrity Commission to share a statement of its own to the Esports Advocate on Wednesday, July 2.
In their message, the EIC cast doubt on the IESF’s sanctions, clearly stating that it isn’t obligated to “support, recognize, or enforce” the ruling. Additionally, the ESIC noted that substances banned under WADA do not apply to esports, as it differs from traditional sports so greatly.
“Without a scientifically grounded and purpose-built approach to anti-doping in esports, serious consequences to competitive integrity are inevitable — as demonstrated by this incident. ESIC remains firmly committed to a fair, evidence-based anti-doping framework and will continue to encourage all members to rely on ESIC’s established and proven approach,” they wrote.
X: ArslanAsh95Arslan Ash is known as one of the greatest Tekken players of all time.
Arslan has since responded to the EISC’s ruling in a statement to ProPakistani, where he admitted that he wasn’t aware steroids were banned in esports.
“I wasn’t aware these drugs were banned in esports,” he said. “I was never using them for any kind of advantage in gaming. Once I learned about their risks and the anti-doping rules, I stopped using them completely.”
Arslan Ash is one of the greatest pro players in Tekken history, famously putting Pakistan on the competitive map with his wins at both Evo Japan and Evo Last Vegas in 2019. Since then, he has gone on to take five total Evo championships and even won the Tekken World Tour in 2023.
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