Series A
Deschamps feels with suspended Pogba: “Makes me sad”
Has compassion for Paul Pogba after his doping ban: Didier Deschamps. photo
© Vadim Ghirda/AP/dpa
Once one of the best midfielders in the world, Paul Pogba’s career now appears to be over. A former coach feels for the former world champion.
France’s national soccer coach Didier Deschamps has sympathy for the former world champion Paul Pogba, who finds his career in ruins after a positive doping test.
“His situation makes me sad and I hope with all my heart that it will get better. I definitely want to believe in it,” said 55-year-old Deschamps in a statement carried by several French media: “Of course I can’t remain unaffected of his pain, considering what he achieved in the national team.”
Banned for four years
The 30-year-old Pogba from Juventus Turin was banned for four years by the Italian sports court on Thursday. Pogba tested positive for testosterone in August after a Serie A game between Juve and Udinese Calcio. The B sample confirmed the result. Pogba will appeal to the Cas International Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.
“I cannot imagine for a moment that Paul had the intention or the will to dope,” said Deschamps: “As I know him well, I know that this does not correspond to his way of thinking at all.”
But now there are the facts. “The presence of the illicit hormone is undeniable,” said Deschamps: “The problem is there and Paul will have to fight a new battle to defend himself and convince the judges that he did not knowingly take banned substances.”
Pogba reacts in shock
Pogba, World Champion in Russia in 2018 under Deschamps, had been temporarily excluded from playing since the beginning of September. He also admitted to taking a food supplement whose package leaflet mentioned performance-enhancing substances.
Pogba reacted in shock to the verdict on Thursday. “I was informed of the decision today and believe that the verdict is wrong. I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built up in my professional career has been taken away from me,” the midfielder wrote on Instagram.