The France and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been handed a four-year ban from football for a doping offence.
Pogba was provisionally suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping body, Nado Italia, at a tribunal in September last year. Pogba tested positive for testosterone – a banned substance – after Juve’s 3-0 league win at Udinese on 20 August, with a B sample confirming the positive result in October.
A Juventus spokesman told the Guardian that “this morning we received the notice from the anti-doping agency that [Pogba] has been disqualified for four years”.
Pogba, whose club contract runs until 2026, will appeal to the court of arbitration for sport in Switzerland. Unless that is successful, the World Cup winner will not be able to play again until 2028, and it could signal the end of his career.
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Pogba turns 31 in March and will be almost 35 by the time his ban is completed. He has endured a torrid second spell with Juve owing to knee and hamstring injuries since he returned to Italy on a free transfer from Manchester United in 2022.