On Thursday morning, Paul Pogba’s future in football was thrown into doubt as he was handed a major four-year ban from the sport.
He tested positive for testosterone after Juventus’ first match of the season and was punished by an anti-doping prosecutor in Italy on Thursday.
Pogba’s lawyers had rejected a plea deal and hoped to get their client a lighter sentence after claiming he accidentally ingested the substance that caused the positive test, DHEA.
However, the prosecutor did not believe Pogba’s defense and he has now been handed a ban that could potentially end his career.
Here, Mailsport answers all questions about his ban, the drug used and his possible return.
Paul Pogba’s future in football remains in doubt as he was handed a four-year ban from the sport
Pogba barely featured for Juventus after rejoining them in 2022 after struggling with injuries
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How long will the appeal take?
Just hours after news of Pogba’s suspension broke, the Frenchman released a short statement confirming he will appeal the decision to the sport’s highest legal authority.
He wrote: “As a professional athlete, I would never do anything to enhance my performance by using banned substances and I have never disrespected or deceived fellow athletes and supporters of the teams I played for or against.
“As a result of the decision announced today, I will appeal against it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).”
When cases are submitted to CAS, they will usually conduct a thorough review of the evidence and see if it complies with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.
However, if CAS agrees with Pogba and accepts an appeal for him, WADA will also have the right to appeal – meaning the process could take months.
But if CAS disagrees with Pogba’s claims – and therefore agrees to the sanction imposed by Italy’s national doping agency – then the appeal will end.
Pogba claimed he will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
What drug was he banned for?
The 30-year-old tested positive for DHEA, a banned substance that increases testosterone, after playing in the opening match of the season against Udinese on August 20.
The substance is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) banned list, with a validity of up to four years if taken deliberately to enhance an athlete’s performance.
The drug is classified as an anabolic androgenic steroid, a class of hormones widely abused for their muscle-building and strength-enhancing properties. according to the NS.
Sources close to the situation told Mail Sport that the positive test relates to a set of pills prescribed to Pogba by an American doctor.
The tablets were prescribed to the former Manchester United star in late November 2022.
Pogba was ordered to take the supplements, made by an American company, after blood tests revealed certain deficiencies in his body.
It is understood that the fact that he was advised to take the tablets on medical advice formed the basis of Pogba’s defense in his attempts to avoid a long-term ban.
The sanction makes it likely that the Juventus midfielder’s career is now over
What happened to other athletes who tested positive for the same drug?
Pogba is said to be furious about the duration of the ban, the maximum penalty the Italian anti-doping court can impose, as he believes the punishment is disproportionate to precedent.
In 2022, UFC fighter Bobby Green was handed a six-month ban by the US Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for DHEA.
The lightweight was given a six-month ban after testing positive for the substance.
His sentence was reduced by USADA due to his cooperation and the discovery of a small amount of the performance-enhancing drug.
The American fighter accepted responsibility for his actions, saying he did not realize DHEA was a banned substance after seeing a video about it on YouTube and started taking the supplement after his wife bought it at a supermarket.
In 2018, Brazilian forward Joao Pedro from Cagliari faced a four-year ban after testing positive for a diuretic.
Pedro maintained that he had unknowingly consumed contaminated nutritional supplements and eventually saw his suspension reduced to six months.
In 2022, UFC fighter Bobby Green was handed a six-month ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for DHEA. The American accepted responsibility for actions
Will he retire?
There are questions about whether Pogba will ever return to the football field, given that he will be 35 years old when his ban ends.
The midfielder also struggled with a number of injuries during his first year at Juventus, casting further doubt on whether the Frenchman could return.
In total, Pogba played just 108 minutes in the league, 42 minutes in the Europa League and 11 minutes in the Italian Cup in the 2022/23 season. He contributed virtually nothing to his team, while his market value dropped dramatically.
Pogba has a huge social media presence, with 60 million people following him on Instagram, and was expected to raise Juventus’ profile, but in reality his career was over from the moment he arrived in Turin.