Former Manchester United Midfielder Paul Pogba has been handed 4-year ban from playing professional football as a result of failed doping tests. The former United player has not played for Juventus since September 2023.
Italy’s National Anti-Doping Tribunal (TNA) accepted the request of the Anti-Doping Prosecutor’s Office to hand out the four-year ban which is the standard length of ban under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA).
The ban starts from when Pogba first tested positive, so the France international is banned until August 2027. He will be 34 years old when the ban stops, raising doubts over whether his career will continue after that.
According to Sky in Italy, Pogba will appeal against this decision to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) in Lausanne. Should Pogba take the ruling to CAS to judge on, then WADA will appeal against that. A final judgement could end up at the Swiss courts.
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.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 played 108 minutes over six Serie A games, made three appearances and one assist in the Europa League, and managed 11 minutes in the Coppa Italia a total of 162 minutes and no goals.
