French international from Juventus Turin Paul Pogba, who tested positive for testosterone in August 2023, was sentenced to four years of suspension by the Italian anti-doping court, the maximum penalty incurred, the club announced to AFP on Thursday. “We received notification from the court this morning,” a source within Juventus told AFP, saying they “take note” of the court’s decision.
The latter followed the prosecution’s requisitions against the 30-year-old midfielder, world champion in 2018 with the Blues, the maximum penalty according to the World Anti-Doping Code. Contacted by AFP, the Italian anti-doping court has not yet taken action. Pogba, 30, tested positive in August 2023, during the match between Udinese and Juventus, counting for the first day of the Italian Championship, in which he did not participate.
Pogba seizes CAS and claims to have “never deliberately taken” doping products
French midfielder Paul Pogba, suspended four years for doping, announced Thursday that he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and claimed to have “never knowingly or deliberately” taken doping products, in a message published on Instagram. “I was informed today of the decision of the National Anti-Doping Tribunal and I consider that the verdict is incorrect, wrote the French international (91 caps, 11 goals) on his Instagram account. I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built during my professional gaming career has been taken away from me. When I am free from legal restrictions the whole story will become clear, but I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements which would violate anti-doping regulations.”
“As a professional athlete, I would never do anything to enhance my performance by using banned substances and I have never disrespected or misled other athletes and supporters of the teams I played for or against. Continued “To the decision announced today, I will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” he concluded.
What about continuing your career?
The midfielder, whose 2022-23 season was disrupted by injuries and extra-sporting problems, was provisionally suspended on September 11, before the second opinion he had requested confirmed less than one months later the presence of testosterone metabolites. To explain this positive doping control, those around “La Pioche” had indicated that the testosterone metabolites would come from a food supplement prescribed by a doctor, whom the player consulted in the United States.
Testosterone, the hormone of fertility and male sexuality, promotes muscle development. Pogba, who turns 31 on March 15, can appeal this sanction. But more than ever, a big doubt hangs over the continuation of his career, knowing that Juventus, with which he is linked until the summer of 2026, can now terminate their contract, due to this suspension, in particular in order to save on salary. French international Paul Pogba will appeal his suspension.
Didier Deschamps “does not imagine for a single moment that Pogba had the intention of doping”
The coach of the French football team, Didier Deschamps, said in a press release on Thursday that he “could not imagine” that Paul Pogba “had the intention, the desire to take drugs”. “I don’t imagine for a single moment that Paul had the intention, the desire to take drugs,” Deschamps said. “To know him well, I know that this is not at all in his state of mind. Now, there are the facts and what the two samples taken reveal. The presence of the illicit hormone is indisputable.”