World Cup Winner Paul Pogba Slapped With Four Year Ban After Testing Positive For Doping

PARIS: Former FIFA World Cup Winner Paul Pogba's already tumbling football career has suffered a major setback after he was slapped with a four year ban on Thursday following the French midfielder's positive testing for doping.

Accepting the request made by the Anti-Doping Prosecutor's Office, Italy's National Anti-Doping Tribunal (TNA) handed out the four year ban - which is the standard length of ban under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA).

It all started when the Juventus midfielder was picked for random testing after the Bionconeri thumped Udinese 3-0 back in August 2023.

As a result, the 30-year-old was given a provisional suspension in September 2023 after his initial sample detected DHEA, which is known to increase the testosterone levels in his system.

Thereafter, his B sample also underwent testing and to the despair of the Frenchmen, that too was tested positive.

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.

But, 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 are not commenting.

Notably, Paul Pogba's footballing career kicked off with youth stints in France with clubs such as Roissy-en-Brie, Torcy, Le Havre.

Subsequently, his career took a significant turn when he joined his dream club and English giants Manchester United to mark the onset of his senior club career.

However, things did not pan out the way both the parties would have wanted, compelling them to part ways with each other.

The enigmatic midfielder then moved to Juventus for his first spell with the Italian giants in 2012.

This move ultimately became the turning point in Pogba's career as he established himself as one of the most prolific midfielders in the world with the Old Lady before he sealed a blockbuster return to the Premier League with Manchester United splashing out 90 Million Euros to avail the services of the midfielder for a second time.

Unfortunately, his much-anticipated return to the Red Devils was marked by inconsistency. The dazzling midfielder produced some individual moments of brilliance to rescue his side out of nowhere, but such instances were few and far between as the United faithful lost patience with the Frenchman.

His lifestyle off the field as well as his injury record added fuel to the fire as the Red Devils lost faith with the player after a couple of years at the historic club.

Henceforth, he completed a move back to Juventus in the year 2022 and managed to make eight appearances for the Serie A giants before being suspended.

It is also worth noting that Paul Pogba played an integral part in Didier Deschamps’s World Cup-winning French team in 2016 and also the Le Blues side which marched to a UEFA Nations League title triumph in the 2020-21 campaign.

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