French international Paul Pogba has been provisionally suspended for doping, announced the Italian anti-doping agency (Nado) in a press release sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Monday September 11.
The player tested positive for testosterone, which confirms information from the Italian media Corriere della Sera And Gazzetta dello Sport. Juventus Turin, his club, specified in a press release that the control dates back to August 20, after the match against Udine, counting for the first day of the Italian Championship. A match during which Paul Pogba did not come into play.
Testosterone is a hormone that is used in a medical setting to treat serious pathologies, but it is considered a doping product in sport. If the second opinion of his B sample confirms the presence of testosterone metabolites, Paul Pogba is liable to a four-year suspension.
Juve specifies in its press release that it “reserves the possibility of evaluating the next steps of the procedure”, suggesting that she was waiting for the second opinion. Same thing for Paul Pogba’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, who emphasizes that she “cannot have an opinion before the results”. ” What is certain, she continues, Paul Pogba never wanted to break a rule. »
A season marked by his repeated injuries
The French footballer returned to Juventus in the summer of 2022 after six seasons at Manchester United. Aged 30, he lived a nightmarish 2022-2023 season on and off the pitch. The 2018 world champion initially suffered injuries, which limited the number of matches he played this year to ten and deprived him of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He was also the victim of an extortion attempt by an organized gang in which one of his brothers is involved.
The one whose last match dates back to May 14 made his return to competition on August 27 during his team’s draw at home against Bologna (1-1), in the Italian championship. “Of course, I’m happy to have returned to the field, to be able to do again what I love most in the world, to feel good physically and to be able to help the team,” he told the DAZN platform after the match.
He came on the following weekend during the match against Empoli, counting for the 3e day of the championship, but finished the match weakened due to pain in his right thigh. The examinations then turned out to be reassuring.
Shortly before the announcement of the positive result of his control, the Frenchman had assured that he had the ” rage ” And “the desire to play” this season, believing that his extra-sporting problems had made him ” stronger “in an interview broadcast by the Qatari television channel Al-Jazeera.