France’s Paul Pogba has received a four-year ban from football by Italy’s anti-doping tribunal for testing positive for testosterone in August, according to his club Juventus.
A spokesperson for Juventus informed AFP that they were informed of the decision against the 30-year-old World Cup champion, who was temporarily suspended in September.
“We received notification from the tribunal this morning,” the spokesman said. Italy’s anti-doping body did not immediately respond when contacted by AFP.
Anti-doping prosecutors requested the four-year ban for the former Manchester United midfielder, who tested positive after Juventus’s first match of the Serie A season against Udinese on August 20, where he did not play.
A month later, a B sample confirmed the presence of testosterone, leading to his provisional suspension.
Pogba’s representatives claimed the testosterone was from a food supplement prescribed by a doctor in the United States.
Pogba, who returned to Juventus in 2022 after six years at United, played a crucial role in France’s World Cup victory in 2018, scoring in the final against Croatia.
The positive doping test occurred as he was trying to move past a challenging first season back at Juventus, where he only made 10 appearances and faced off-field problems, including an extortion investigation.
