TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Pogba has doping suspension cut to 18 months, eligible to play next March
The France international was provisionally suspended by Italy's national anti-doping organisation (NADO Italia) in September 2023 after testing positive for DHEA - a banned substance that raises levels of testosterone.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Juventus and French national soccer team player Paul Pogba warms up before a match between Juventus and Cremonese at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy on May 14, 2023. (Reuters/Massimo Pinca)
F
rench soccer player Paul Pogba’s doping suspension has been cut from four years to 18 months, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Friday.
"The suspension is now 18 months, starting Sept. 11, 2023," CAS director general Matthieu Reeb told Reuters.
The France international was provisionally suspended by Italy's national anti-doping organisation (NADO Italia) in September 2023 after testing positive for DHEA - a banned substance that raises levels of testosterone.
The 31-year-old Pogba, who has a contract with Italy's Juventus until June 2026, denied any wrongdoing and said in February he would appeal to CAS.
"Finally the nightmare is over. Following the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again," Pogba said in a statement.
"I always stated that I never knowingly breached World Anti-Doping Agency regulations when I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes.
"I play with integrity, and although I must accept that this is a strict liability offence, I want to place on record my thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport's judges who heard my explanation."
The doping test was performed after Juventus' 3-0 season-opening victory in Serie A at Udinese on Aug. 20, 2023.
The tribunal said it had detected prohibited "non-endogenous testosterone metabolites", adding that the results were "consistent with the exogenous (external) origin of the target compounds".
Juve have been contacted by Reuters for a comment.
