PAUL Pogba is facing a ban of up to four years after allegedly testing positive for testosterone, according to reports in Italy.
The France midfielder, whose return to Juventus from Manchester United in July 2022 had already turned into a nightmare before this development, is reported to have tested positive after his club’s Serie A fixture against Udinese on August 20, a game in which he did not play.
According to reports, Pogba is set to be suspended on an initial precautionary basis and has three days to request a B sample.
The maximum suspension in such cases is four years – an initial two-year ban, which can be doubled if it is proven that the substance was taken deliberately.
The most recent similar case in Serie A saw Atalanta’s Jose Luis Palomino banned and then absolved after having missed four months, when a positive test for the steroid clostebol was overturned by the B sample.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, released hours before news broke of Pogba’s doping test, the midfielder said: ‘I want to make people eat their words and prove I am not weak. People can criticise me, but I will never give up.
‘At times, when I have been alone, I have thought: “I don’t want to have money anymore. I don’t want to play football any longer. I want to be with normal people, that way they’ll love me for who I am, not for money or fame.”
‘At times it’s hard. Money changes people and can destroy a family, it can create a war.’
Pogba had been linked with a move to Saudi Pro League club Al Ittihad this summer amid his difficulties at Juventus, where he is one of the highest-paid players.
Juventus next play on Saturday in a 2pm kick-off vs Lazio with the Frenchman’s inclusion now unclear in light of the reports.
Pogba has been laden with injury for much of his Juventus return. He played just 10 times last season amid four separate significant setbacks involving the knee, groin and hamstring. He missed the 2022 World Cup as a result.
Pogba left United in 2022 following a record £89m move from Juventus in 2016. He made 233 appearances and netted 39 goals and recorded 51 assists in that time, winning the Europa League and League Cup.
