Juventsus midfielder Paul Pogba has been provisionally suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal after returning an adverse sample.
The France international tested positive for testosterone in a random drugs test following Juventus’ Serie A game against Udinese on August 20, when he was an unused substitute.
After the Italian anti-doping body issued a statement on Monday evening confirming Pogba’s suspension, Juventus said the club would now consider “the next procedural steps”.
If found guilty of doping, a suspension of between two and four years could be handed out to Pogba.
“Juventus Football Club announces that today, September 11, 2023, the footballer Paul Labile Pogba received a precautionary suspension order from the National Anti-Doping Tribunal following the results of tests carried out on August 20, 2023,” a statement from the Serie A side read.
The club reserves the right to consider the next procedural steps,” the statement added.
From 2012 to 2016, he played a pivotal role in helping Juventus secure four Serie A titles and two Italian Cups, and they even reached the Champions League final in 2015.
Pogba, a key figure in France’s victorious 2018 World Cup campaign, had a challenging 2022-2023 season marked by injuries and a complex extortion plot involving childhood friends and one of his siblings.
During that season, he could only participate in ten games for Juventus, missing out on the 2022 World Cup with the French national team.
In the previous season, he featured in just six Serie A matches. However, he was expected to make his comeback against Lazio over the weekend and expressed his eagerness to return to the pitch in an interview with Al Jazeera.
Reflecting on his tumultuous year, Pogba shared, “I’ve had a difficult year so I’ve this anger and this wish to play football,” Pogba told Al Jazeera.
“The only people that can hurt you are the people close to you. Enemies you know where they are, but friends, family, that you think they’re happy for you, they can destroy you,” he said.
“You have to be careful, money change people, can break up a family,” he said of the multimillion euros extortion efforts by former friends and his own brother Mattias.
He added, “You have to be cautious; money can change people and even tear apart families,” referring to the multi-million euro extortion attempts by former friends and his own brother, Mattias.
Pogba revealed that at times, he was deeply demoralized by the situation, contemplating leaving behind fame and fortune to lead a more ordinary life where people would love him for who he is, rather than his fame or wealth.
Following this recent setback, Pogba faces an anxious wait for the results of his ‘B’ test.
