Paul Pogba has been handed a four-year ban from football for a failed doping test in August 2023.
The Juventus and former Manchester United midfielder had appealed against the provisional suspension handed out by Nado last September by Italy’s anti-doping agency, and intends to do so again against the confirmed four-year ban.
Pogba’s failed drug test stemmed from Juventus’ 3-0 victory over Udinese last August, when the French international was found to have elevated levels of “non-endogenous testosterone metabolites” and “consistent with the exogenous origin of the target of the compounds”.
The World Cup winner’s B-sample also came back as positive, which led to Italian authorities calling for Pogba to be handed a four-year ban.
Pogba and his team had defended themselves from knowingly taking any performance-enhancing drugs, with his agent, Rafaela Pimenta, stating that she is “certain” that he would ‘never want to break a rule” upon hearing of the positive A-sample.
With Pogba now facing life without football until he is 35-years-old, and if the appeal is not successful, it may spell the end of the player’s career.
