Juventus star Paul Pogba banned for four years

Reports have emerged from Italy that Paul Pogba has been banned for four years following a failed drug test last year.

La Repubblica, an Italian news outlet, has reported the National Anti-Doping Tribunal in Italy has accepted the punishment proposed to them by the Anti-Doping Prosecutor's Office.

The ban is the standard length for any sportsperson caught deliberately using Performance-enhancing drugs under the World Anti-Doping Code.

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La Repubblica reported Pogba's defence lawyers rejected a plea deal, arguing the Frenchman had injected the PED. This defence was rejected by the Anti-Doping Prosecutor's Office.

Pogba and his legal team are expected to appeal the decision by the prosecutor's office at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Following his initial ban, Pogba requested a secondary test to be done on the positive sample, unfortunately for the former Manchester United midfielder, this test also came back positive, per Sky Sports.

Pogba is set to turn 31 in a couple of weeks, making any return to top-level football unlikely once he has completed his ban.

This suspension marks a dramatic fall from grace for the former most expensive player in football. Once a key cog in France's 2018 World Cup win, Pogba failed to settle in Manchester, putting in inconsistent performances, often feeling the ire of fans.

Since this ban is now official, let's take a look back over the timeline of events that followed the initial positive sample and how we ended up here.

Sky Sports in Italy have reported Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug.

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Per the reporting, Pogba tested positive for testosterone, a naturally occurring hormone that can provide performance-enhancing qualities when taken as a supplement.

Pogba was randomly drug-tested after Juve’s first game of the season against Udinese on the 20th of August 2023.

Pogba has been battling injuries in recent months and wasn’t even playing in the game against Udinese.

Pogba was provisionally banned in September, 2023 before a secondary sample was counter-analyzed which also returned a positive result for testosterone. 

Throughout the investigation, the key for both sides has been whether the ingestion of the PED was intentional or not. Pogba's defense has always been it was an accident, with his lawyer saying, "What is certain is that Paul Pogba never wanted to break a rule," as reported by The Mirror.

Since Pogba's pomp, he has struggled to find the form that once made him the most expensive player in football. Having returned to Italy in July 2022, he has battled injuries and suspensions and now faces an ignominious end to his career.

According to The Mirror, Juventus are set to cancel Pogba's contract following the ruling.

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