February 29, (THEWILL) – French footballer Paul Pogba has been handed a four-year ban from the sport, following a failed appeal against a previous failed doping test result.
The 30-year-old Juventus midfielder, initially, tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing substance testosterone after his club’s opening match of the 2022/2023 season against Udinese last August. A second sample analysed in October confirmed the presence of the muscle-building hormone, which increases endurance in athletes.
Pogba’s legal team unsuccessfully argued that their client had accidentally ingested the banned substance, rejecting a plea deal in hopes of securing a more lenient punishment. However, prosecutors did not accept this defence and upheld the four-year suspension. Juventus declined to comment but a source close to the club confirmed they had been made aware of the decision and would evaluate potential next steps.
Under the terms of the ban, Pogba will not be eligible to return to football until 2028 at the earliest, by which point he will be 34 years old. It caps a dreadful second stint at Juventus for the Frenchman following his 2022 transfer from Manchester United, having barely featured last season due to persistent knee and hamstring injuries. These fitness struggles also ruled him out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where his national side were defending champions.
Pogba’s playing future now looks bleak. Still under contract at Juventus, a four-year ban would rule him out until the twilight years of his career. For a player once considered one of the best midfielders of his generation, it marks a dramatic fall from grace.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
