We thought he was lost to football, but Paul Pogba, suspended for doping, could play again before the end of winter, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) having reduced his suspension from four years to eighteen months on Friday.
“I confirm the decision to you: 18 months of suspension from September 11, 2023. The decision is rendered without the reasons, which will follow later,” a spokesperson for the international court told AFP, that the champion of the world 2018 had seized on appeal.
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 posted a close-up photo of two feet on his Instagram account on Friday evening – his own? – wearing Pogba branded football boots with socks bearing his initials decorated with the flag of France and the two world champion stars.
In an interview given last July to Sky Sport Italia before the round of 16 of the Euro won by the Blues against Belgium (1-0), the midfielder reaffirmed his ambition to become a footballer again.
“Pogba is not finished, Pogba is here,” he said, proclaiming his “incredible desire to come back”. “I’m training, I’m doing everything I can to get back on the field,” he continued. “Last I heard, I’m still a Juve player, I have a contract.”
Tested positive for testosterone in August 2023 during a match between Juventus and Udinese in which he did not participate and provisionally suspended the following month, Paul Pogba was suspended for four years on February 29 by the Italian anti-doping court.
In a message published that day on Instagram, he 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.
The CAS has not yet communicated the reasons for its decision rendered on Friday.
Testosterone, the hormone of fertility and male sexuality, promotes muscle development.
– Paul Pogback ? –
The positive test in August 2023 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. The four-year suspension sounded a few months later like an early end to his career.
“I do not imagine for a single moment that Paul had the intention, the desire to take drugs,” commented the Blues coach, Didier Deschamps. “Paul will have to lead a new fight to defend himself, before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and convince the judges that he did not knowingly take prohibited products,” he continued, saying he was unable to “remain insensitive to his pain, taking into account everything he has achieved in the selection and the relationships we have established in the France team.
In Italy, Massimiliano Allegri, then coach of Juve, judged that football was losing “an extraordinary player” with him, while Adrien Rabiot, his teammate in the selection and club (he currently plays in Marseille), judged the “disproportionate” sanction.
Great architect of the world title won by the Blues in Russia in 2018, star of world football, “La Pioche” had seen his popularity decline over a litany of misfortunes on and off the stadiums.
During the 2022-23 season, he 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 a resounding case of organized extortion, for which six men, including his brother Mathias, were referred last month to the Paris Criminal Court.
The CAS decision gives him a possible sporting future again at the end of a week which began with the surprise decision of Antoine Griezmann, his friend from the Russian epic, to give up the French team.
