The 2018 French world champion Paul Pogba, suspended four years for doping, has seen his sanction reduced to 18 months and will be able to return to competition next March, a spokesperson for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced on Friday. “I confirm the decision: 18 months of suspension from September 11, 2023. The decision is rendered without reasons, which will follow later,” he told AFP.
“I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that would violate anti-doping regulations.”
Under contract with Juventus Turin until 2026, the French international (91 caps, 11 goals), who will turn 32 on March 15, will therefore be authorized to resume competition from March 11. He published on his Instagram account on Friday evening a close-up photo of two feet wearing Pogba-branded football boots with socks bearing his initials decorated with the flag of France and the two world champion stars.
Tested positive for testosterone in August 2023 during a match between Juventus and Udinese and provisionally suspended in September of the same year, Paul Pogba was suspended for four years on February 29 by the national anti-doping court . But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which he appealed, reduced this suspension to eighteen months from September 11, 2023.
In a message published on Instagram after the announcement of his four-year suspension, Pogba claimed to have “never knowingly or deliberately” taken doping products. “I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built during my professional playing career has been taken away from me,” he added. “When I am free from legal restrictions, the whole story will become clear, but I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that would violate anti-doping regulations.”
To explain this positive doping test, those around him had put forward the theory of accidental contamination via a food supplement prescribed by a doctor consulted in the United States. Testosterone, the hormone of fertility and male sexuality, promotes muscle development.
Club blow
This affair had the effect of a hammer blow on a player who had been going through a very complicated period for several months, punctuated by injuries and extra-sporting matters. A great architect of the world title won by the Blues in Russia in 2018, he was one of the great stars of world football before seeing his popularity decline after a litany of misfortunes on and off the stadiums.
During the 2022-23 season, Pogba only made ten appearances in the Juve jersey, due in particular to an injury to the meniscus in his right knee and, with sadness in his soul, had to accept an operation on depriving the World Cup in Qatar, where the France team failed in the final against Argentina in December 2022. The player was also the victim of an organized gang extortion case, for which six men including his brother Mathias were referred last month to the Paris Criminal Court.
