ROME (AP) — Paul Pogba’s career appears to be heading to a premature end.
Pogba, once one of the world’s most productive midfielders, was suspended for up to four years by Italy’s anti-doping tribunal on Thursday after the World Cup winner tested positive for testosterone while playing for Juventus.
Although Pogba has said he will appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, the verdict is unlikely to be overturned by the French foreigner, who turns 31 next month, as he has shown no mitigating reasons for its non-approval. the test.
The positive result was announced in September, following a test carried out on August 20 after Juventus’ match at Udinese. Pogba has yet to play on the bench in the Serie A match.
Pogba opted to negotiate a settlement with the Italian anti-doping firm and so the case went to trial before the country’s anti-doping tribunal. A user with direct knowledge of the case showed the verdict to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the verdict has been made public due to Italian privacy laws.
Pogba said in a statement that he believed “the verdict was wrong. “
“I’m sad, shocked and sorry that everything I’ve built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me,” Pogba said. “When I am released from legal restrictions, the whole story will be cleared up, but I have never taken, knowingly or intentionally, any supplement that could violate anti-doping rules. “
It may take a total of one year for a CAS verdict to be issued; At least that’s the same deadline as always, unless one party pushes for the procedure to be expedited and the other side agrees.
Four-year bans are the norm in the World Anti-Doping Code, but can be reduced in cases where an athlete may find that their doping was unintentional, if the positive result is the result of contamination, or if they provide “substantial aid. “”To lend a hand to the researchers. . .
Pogba is known for his versatility, physicality and eye for goal. Following his return to Manchester United in 2016, the club paid Juventus a transfer fee of 105 million euros ($113 million), then a world record.
Pogba joined Juventus in 2022 but has struggled with injuries, playing just six Serie A games last season and two this season. He was ruled out of France’s participation in the 2022 World Cup final due to a knee injury.
Pogba helped France win the World Cup, scoring in a 4-2 win over Croatia in the final. He made 178 appearances for Juventus between 2012 and 2016.
“As a professional athlete, I would never do anything to my functionality using banned ingredients and I have never disrespected or misled other athletes and supporters of the teams for or against the ones I played,” Pogba said.
Pogba’s contract with Juventus is set to expire in June 2026 but may now be terminated early. There is no immediate comment from the Turin club on the ruling.
The doping case follows an ongoing police investigation in France into allegations that Pogba was subjected to extortion, added his older brother Mathias, who has denied any wrongdoing.
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AP Daniella Matar in Milan contributed to this report.
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