Banned St Kilda footballer Ahmed Saad is pleading for his AFL future as he fronts an appeal board over his doping ban.

ASADA are challenging the 18-month suspension that the AFL handed Saad last November after he tested positive to a banned substance.

The AFL appeal board held a closed hearing on Wednesday night.

Saad was banned last November after he tested positive to Methyl Synephrine HCL, which was in an energy drink he took before an AFL match earlier in the year.

The Saints forward later admitted he had taken the product previously on game days, unaware it was prohibited.

It is understood ASADA want Saad banned for two years.

The Saints have delisted Saad, but his ban was backdated to August last year.

That makes the 24-year-old eligible to return to the AFL next year if a club gives him a chance.

But a two-year ban would dramatically reduce his chance of an AFL comeback.

The AFL appeal board panel will be chairman Peter O’Callaghan QC and fellow lawyers Shaun Ryan and Stephen Jurica.

The league said in a statement that Saad will be advised of the board’s findings “in due course”.