Paul Pogba has not played as a professional for a long time – and won’t be doing so for a while. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has drastically reduced the Frenchman’s ban for doping, which was originally set at four years.
In September 2023, the news had spread that Paul Pogba had tested positive for a doping agent after the Serie A game in August 2023 between Juventus Turin and Udinese Calcio (3-0). The result: a positive B sample, a frozen salary from his club Juve, which he had only returned to in 2022, the trial earlier this year and finally the verdict.
A harsh verdict: Pogba was suspended for a full four years by the Italian sports court at the end of February.
Pogba is allowed to rejoin in January
The now 31-year-old midfielder, however, immediately announced at the time that he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas). With success, as was revealed on October 4.
So the 2018 world champion, who has always maintained his innocence (“As a professional athlete, I would never do anything to improve my performance by using banned substances”), has had his doping ban drastically reduced. And that from four years to “only” 18 months.
The British newspaper Daily Mail reported in this regard that Pogba has achieved this with his appeal in Lausanne. Several French media outlets presented the same information before the highest sports court itself officially confirmed the reports later – without giving any details.
In plain language, this means that the technician, who is still under contract with the Italian record champions from Turin until June 30, 2026, no longer has to hope for his possible comeback as a professional until August 2027 as originally thought. Instead, he is allowed to start team training again in January 2025 and return to the pitch as an active player in March 2025. However, it remains to be seen whether this will actually take place at Juve. At the time of the announcement, the Old Lady had not yet issued a statement.
Pogbas “nightmare” ends
In a statement, which is available on the British website MailOnline (part of the Daily Mail), for example, Pogba has already commented on the decision. He writes: “Finally, the nightmare is over. Following the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, I can look ahead and towards the day when I can chase my dream again. I have always maintained that I never knowingly violated the World Anti-Doping Agency regulations when I took a dietary supplement that was prescribed for me by a doctor and that does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes.”
Pogba, who played 91 times for his country and 132 times in the Serie A, as well as many years for Man Utd, concludes: “I would like to thank the judges of the International Sports Court for hearing my statement. This has been an extremely stressful time in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has suddenly been stopped.”
