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29th February 2024
02:48pm GMT
Paul Pogba insists he will fight a reported four-year ban from football, following a failed doping test. Repubblica Sport reports that the midfielder has been banned for four years for doping violations.
The French international, and 2018 World Cup winner, has released a passionate statement after he was informed of a ban that could potentially be a career-ender.
Paul Pogba has been provisionally suspended since September 2023 after DHEA was found in his system following a drugs test. This is a hormone that can raise testosterone in the body.
The failed drugs test was confirmed in October when his B sample also returned a positive result. In a statement, released today [February 29], Pogba declared:
“I have today been informed of the Tribunale Nazionale Antidoping’s decision and believe that the verdict is incorrect. I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me.
“When I am free of legal restrictions the full story will become clear, but I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations. As a professional athlete I would never do anything to enhance my performance by using banned substances and have never disrespected or cheated fellow athletes and supporters of any of the teams I have played for, or against. As a consequence of the decision announced today I will appeal this before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”
The Frenchman had been on the bench for his Juventus side’s 3-0 win over Udinese in Serie A when he was selected for random testing after the match.
The report states that the prosecution didn’t believe Pogba’s claims that he accidentally consumed the substance.
Pogba, who won the World Cup with France in 2018, turns 31 this year, so there’s a strong chance that four years out of the game could spell the end of his career.
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