Pogba’s 4-year doping ban slashed to 18 months

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has had his four-year ban for a doping offence reduced to 18 months following his successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

According to sources close to the 31-year-old former Manchester United midfielder will be able to resume training in January 2025 and is eligible to play for Juventus from March.

The French international was initially banned by Italy’s National Anti-Doping Tribunal (NADT) after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone in August 2023, following Juventus’ match against Udinese. Testosterone is a hormone that can enhance endurance.

“I can confirm the decision: an 18-month suspension with effect from 11 September 2023. The reasons for the decision will follow later,” a CAS spokesperson told AFP.

Pogba’s positive test resulted in a provisional suspension in September 2023 and a subsequent four-year ban by the tribunal in February 2024. However, his representatives maintained that the testosterone found in his system came from a food supplement prescribed by a U.S. doctor.

Upon hearing the original decision, Pogba expressed his dismay, stating he had “never knowingly or deliberately” used banned substances. “I am sad, shocked, and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me,” he shared on Instagram.

After CAS reduced his ban, Pogba posted a symbolic image on Instagram, showing a close-up of his feet in football boots adorned with his initials and the French flag, marking a hopeful return.
Pogba, who is under contract with Juventus until 2026, will be eligible to play again starting March 11, 2025, just days before his 32nd birthday.

A key figure in France’s 2018 World Cup-winning team, Pogba has faced numerous setbacks since his return to Juventus from Manchester United in 2022, including injuries that limited him to just 10 appearances last season and kept him out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He was also a victim of an extortion case involving his brother Mathias, for which six men are set to stand trial.