Paul Pogba, a midfielder for Juventus, has received a four-year ban from football due to a doping violation.
In September, the ex-Manchester United player received a provisional suspension due to elevated levels of testosterone found in his system during a drugs test.
After Juventus’ first match of the season on 20 August, Pogba, 30, underwent a random test.
Pogba plans to challenge Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal’s (Nado) ruling.
In October, Nado confirmed the failed drugs test in a second sample, leading to a four-year suspension requested by the anti-doping prosecutor’s office.
A representative from Juventus informed the AFP news agency: “We were notified by the tribunal this morning.”
This decision implies that Pogba will not be able to participate in any matches until 2027, at which point he will be 33 years old, as the suspension will be applied retroactively to the day of the failed test.
Pogba believes that if he did take a banned substance, it was unintentional.
During the initial suspension, Pogba’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, stated: “Paul Pogba never intended to violate any rules.”
Testosterone is a hormone known to boost athletes‘ endurance levels.
Nado stated that Pogba had broken rules by having non-endogenous testosterone metabolites in the test, which are substances not naturally produced by the body from testosterone, and the results indicated an external source of the compounds.
Juventus brought Pogba back on board with a four-year contract in July 2022 following his departure from Manchester United as a free agent.
Paul Pogba’s comeback to Turin has been plagued by ongoing injury issues, leading to his absence from the previous World Cup in Qatar.
This season, Pogba has accumulated 51 minutes of play as a substitute in matches against Bologna and Empoli.
In the previous season, he played a total of 162 minutes across various competitions but did not score any goals.
