Pogba’s four-year ban reduced to 18 months

GENEVA | Xinhua | French football player Paul Pogba’s four-year ban for an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) was cut to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday.

The Juventus midfielder filed an appeal against the decision of Italy’s National Anti-Doping Tribunal for committing an ADRV on February 28, 2024. He was punished with a four-year ban commencing on September 11, 2023, and a 5,000 euro fine.

CAS confirmed the ADRV but ruled that Pogba was not at fault, reducing his ban to 18 months and also canceling his fine.

“The CAS Panel based its decision on the evidence and legal arguments made that Mr Pogba’s ingestion of DHEA (non-endogenous testosterone metabolites), the substance for which he tested positive, was not intentional and was the result of erroneously taking a supplement prescribed to him by a medical doctor in Florida after Mr Pogba had been given assurances that the medical doctor, who had claimed to treat several high-level U.S. and international athletes, was knowledgeable and would be mindful of Mr Pogba’s anti-doping obligations under the World Anti-Doping Code,” CAS announced in its statement.

“The CAS Panel determined that Mr Pogba was not without fault and that, as a professional football player, he should have paid a greater care in the circumstances,” according to CAS. ■