This was Paul Pogba's reaction to receiving a four-year doping ban

The French midfielder shared a statement on Thursday, after the decision became public.

29/02/2024, 07:27 PM +00:00

The soccer world was shocked on Thursday by the news of Paul Pogba's suspension. The midfielder had tested positive for testosterone in an anti-doping test conducted in August, after a match between Juventus and Udinese in which he was on the bench and did not even enter for a minute. Weeks later he asked for a new test and the results were exactly the same.

Since then he had been provisionally suspended while awaiting a ruling from Italy's National Anti-Doping Court. His lawyers had tried to reduce the possible penalty by claiming that there had been no intention to gain an advantage through the consumption of the banned substance, but that did not help.

This Thursday the court's decision was finally known and Pogba received the harshest sanction that the rules foresee for this type of situation: four years of suspension. He will not be able to play again until he is 34 or 35 years old, which practically means that his career is over.

A few hours after this, the French player released a statement telling his feelings after hearing the news: "(I) believe that the verdict is incorrect. I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me," he began. And then he denied the facts attributed to him: "I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations. As a professional athlete I would never do anything to enhance my performance by using banned substances and have never disrespected or cheated fellow athletes and supporters of any of the teams I have played for, or against".

What will he do now?

The last part of the statement talks about the steps to follow from now on: "As a consequence of the decision announced today I will appeal this before the Court of Arbitration for Sport". However, that will not be the only concern for Pogba, as it is rumored that Juventus will try to terminate his contract, which expires on June 30, 2026.