Paul Pogba: Juventus midfielder set for March return after doping ban reduced to 18 months - 'The nightmare is over'
Updated 04/10/2024 at 21:25 GMT+1
Paul Pogba could be free to return to match action with Juventus in March after his four-year doping ban was shortened to 18 months following an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Pogba, who joined Manchester United in 2016 before returning to the Italian side, tested positive for testosterone in September 2023.
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Paul Pogba could return to action with Juventus from March 2025 after winning his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
Pogba was handed a four-year ban from football for doping by Italy's national anti-doping tribunal (Nado) in February.
But following a successful appeal with the CAS, the Juve midfielder is now able to return to match action in March.
CAS director general Matthieu Reeb told Reuters on Friday: "The suspension is now 18 months, starting Sept. 11, 2023."
Pogba tested positive for testosterone metabolites in Juve's 2023/24 Serie A opener against Udinese. The midfielder was an unused substitute in the match.
"Finally the nightmare is over," Pogba said in a statement on Friday. "I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again.
"I always stated that I never knowingly breached World Anti-Doping Agency regulations when I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes.
"I play with integrity and, although I must accept that this is a strict liability offence, I want to place on record my thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport's judges who heard my explanation.
"This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has been put on hold."
Upon his ban, the 31-year-old said he was "sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me".
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The former France international, once renowned as one of world football's most exciting players, re-joined Juventus in 2022 after a six-year spell with Manchester United.
His move to the Premier League club in 2016 saw him become the world's most expensive transfer, with the Premier League club spending £89 million to acquire the midfielder from Juventus.
The midfielder was a key member of France's World Cup-winning campaign in 2018, scoring in the 4-2 win over Croatia in the final. He was ruled out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with a knee injury.
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