By Victor Kanayo
French football star Paul Pogba will most likely serve a four-year ban, coupled with a cancellation of his contract with Juventus after a secondary analysis confirmed his positive drugs test.
Juventus provisionally suspended Pogba on September 11, 2023, after returning a doping test with unusually high level of testosterone following a Serie A victory against Udinese in August.
The France international was selected for random testing after Juve’s 3-0 win at Udinese on 20 August, when he had been an unused substitute.
Pogba could also enter into a plea bargain with the National Anti-Doping Tribunal in which he would have any provisional sentence halved.
It is likely Pogba will appeal any ban through the Court of Arbitrarion for Sport (CAS).
Testosterone is a hormone that increases the endurance of athletes.
Pogba’s Career Journey
Juventus re-signed Pogba on a four-year deal in July 2022 after the player ran down his contract at Manchester United and left as a free agent.
However, Pogba’s return to Turin has been beset by persistent injury problems which also saw him miss last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Pogba has played a total of 51 minutes as a substitute this season in games with Bologna and Empoli.
Last season he managed 108 minutes over six Serie A games, three brief appearances and one assist in the Europa League, and 11 minutes in the Coppa Italia – a total of 162 minutes and no goals.
