AHMED Saad’s AFL future will today be determined with the former St Kilda forward set to face an AFL appeals board.

The Herald Sun can reveal today (Wednesday) is D-Day for Saad, who has been ordered to front the hearing with ASADA wanting his 18-month doping ban boosted to a maximum two-year penalty.

If ASADA succeeds, Saad would be ruled out of the 2015 season and likely be forced into the VFL in 2016, effectively killing his hopes of a second AFL lifeline.

If Saad’s original 18-month suspension stands he will be eligible to be selected in this year’s draft and can play as soon as Round 1 next season.

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While Saad’s hearing is set for today, he will continue to remain in limbo with a result unlikely to be known for at least a month.

The Saad camp would not comment last night, but it is believed the 24-year-old is growing frustrated with his mounting legal costs.

Saad admitted taking banned stimulant methylsynephrine contained in the energy drink Before Battle after returning a positive drug test while playing for the Saints last year.

The drink is banned on match day but not during the week.

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VFL player Matt Clark was charged on similar grounds and ASADA successfully lifted his nine-month penalty to 24 months on appeal.

The appeal will be in front of three different tribunal members with former ASADA boss Richard Ings slamming ASADA’s decision to keep the case open.

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“Eighteen months is a pretty significant ban given it was a specified substance which falls into the lesser category of ¬violations,” he said last month.

“If I was ASADA and he got an 18 month ban for what he took, I would have put it in the win column and moved on.”

Saad, who was married last October, is staying in peak physical shape despite being unable to play at any level.

Saad was delisted by the Saints last year after kicking 45 goals from 29 promising games, with the club declaring at the time it would continue working with the goalsneak.