The French midfielder of Juventus Turin Paul Pogba has tested positive for testosterone, after confirming the counteranalysis of the anti-doping test he underwent after the Udinese-Juventus match. The footballer, world champion in 2018 with his country’s national team, will remain provisionally suspended while the Italian Antidope Prosecutor’s Office (NADO) investigates the events, according to local media. On September 11, Pogba’s positive test for testosterone was confirmed in a test carried out on August 20 in the match between the Turin team and Udinese, which the midfielder experienced from the bench. Immediately, that same day, the National Anti-Doping Tribunal decreed his suspension, attributing to him the violation of codes 2.1 and 2.1 of the Sports Rules that sanction the use and even attempted consumption of prohibited substances. Pogba, 30 years old and trained at Manchester United and Juventus, where he returned in 2022, could be sanctioned with up to four years of disqualification.
In September, an official statement from the justice system anticipated the problems that were coming to Pogba: “The National Anti-Doping Court, accepting the proposal of the National Anti-Doping Prosecutor’s Office, provisionally suspended Pogba.” It was the response to the discovery of testosterone metabolites of non-endogenous origin in his anti-doping tests.
Although testosterone is a hormone that does little to increase sporting performance in an elite athlete but does give more muscle mass, it is a prohibited substance and FIFA did not tremble in 2022 when it sanctioned Sabri Ali Mohamed, a footballer from Djibouti, four years old. Thus, Pogba now suspended on a precautionary basis, will be tried by the Italian national anti-doping court. The sanction can range from two to four courses, which could mean the end of his career, effervescent at the beginning and shattered at the end.
His powerful physique and ability to hit the ball for distribution and finishing, in addition to the wide strides that made him reach everywhere before anyone else, soon made him a place in the football elite, from Juve to Manchester United and way back. He is also a fundamental piece of Deschamps’ France. But he hinted more than he got, especially because of the magnetic story that his football and his feet explained. This has been seen in recent seasons. Last year, hampered by injuries, he barely participated in 10 games, a total of 161 minutes on the mat and was absent from the World Cup. In this one, he had only accounted for 52 minutes, ridiculous numbers for Juve’s highest-paid player with eight million net. Little football and many setbacks, like the one that occurred the previous year when his brother Mathias was arrested for extorting him in connivance with an organized gang and with the aim of obtaining several millions.
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