The French midfielder can return to competition in March 2025, but it seems that his career at the highest level is now over.
Paul Pogba said he was “sad, shocked and heartbroken” after being banned from football for four years in February for testing positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). The Frenchman’s reputation was in ruins, his time at the top level effectively over. “Everything I built in my professional career was taken away from me,” he lamented at the time.
Pogba, however, insisted that he was not a drug user and had never taken “knowingly or deliberately” of prohibited substances. On Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) partially upheld Pogba’s appeal against the Italian National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADO) initial decision, explaining that if the midfielder was not “not without fault and that as a professional football player he should have been more attentive to the circumstances”, lthe offense was not “not intentional”. As a result, Pogba’s suspension was reduced to 18 months.
“The nightmare is finally over”, Pogba said in a statement. “After the CAS decision, I look forward to the day when I can realize my dreams again.”
“I have always maintained that I have never knowingly violated the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) by taking a dietary supplement that was prescribed to me by a doctor and which does not affect or enhance performance male athletes. Although I must accept that this is a strict liability offence, I would like to thank the judges who listened to my explanations.”
“It was a very painful time in my life, because everything I worked hard for was thrown aside. Thank you again for your love and support. I can’t wait to get back on the field.”
But if it is now certain that Pogba will be free to return to competition next March, we do not yet know where he will do so. Since a break with Juventus still seems inevitable…
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