Paul Pogba banned from football for four years for doping offences
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Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been issued a four-year ban from football after testing positive for a banned substance.
The Frenchman failed a doping test on August 20, 2023, after an away Serie A game at Udinese, which he had entirely spent on the bench.
He fought to prove his innocence by providing a counter-analysis B-sample at the beginning of October, but that also came back as positive for DHEA, a banned substance that boosts endogenous testosterone.
He was provisionally suspended by Italian authorities in September, and he has now been handed the biggest possible suspension of four years.
The ban could well prove to be the bitter end to Pogba's football career.
He will turn 31 in March and will not be able to return to competitive football until shortly before his 35th birthday.
Pogba has now responded to the suspension with an official statement published on his official Instagram account on Thursday.
I have today been informed of the Tribunale Nazionale Antidoping's decision and believe that the verdict is incorrect.
I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me.
When I am free of legal restrictions the full story will become clear, but I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations.
As a professional athlete I would never do anything to enhance my performance by using banned substances and have never disrespected or cheated fellow athletes and supporters of any of the teams I have played for, or against.
As a consequence of the decision announced today I will appeal this before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Pogba returned to Juventus on a free transfer after his Manchester United contract expired in 2022.
Once a titanic force in Turin, he struggled to reach the levels that once saw him win four straight Scudetti.
He only played 108 minutes of Serie A football for the Turin giants in his first season back. In total, he has played just 213 minutes for Juventus since his return.
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