France’s football sensation, Paul Pogba, has been hit with a stunning blow as Italy’s anti-doping tribunal hands him a four-year ban following a positive test for testosterone last August, as confirmed by his club Juventus on Thursday.
“We received notification from the tribunal this morning,” a spokesman for Juventus told AFP, revealing the gravity of the situation surrounding the 30-year-old World Cup winner, who had been under provisional suspension since September.
Despite attempts to reach Italy’s anti-doping body for comment, there has been no immediate response to the shocking verdict.
The call for the severe ban stemmed from anti-doping prosecutors, who pointed to Pogba’s positive test after Juventus’s clash with Udinese in August, a match where he remained on the bench throughout.
A subsequent confirmation via a B sample only added to the damning evidence against him, with Pogba’s camp asserting that the presence of testosterone was due to a prescribed food supplement from a US-based doctor.
The ordeal comes at a challenging time for Pogba, who rejoined Juventus in 2022 after a tumultuous stint at Manchester United, marred by controversies both on and off the pitch.
Despite his decorated career, which includes an important role in France’s 2018 World Cup triumph, this doping scandal threatens to overshadow his accomplishments.
