According to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), former French soccer world champion Paul Pogba did not dope intentionally. The highest sports court in Lausanne justified the doping ban for the 31-year-old Juventus midfielder, which was shortened from four years to 18 months. On Monday, the CAS confirmed media reports about this decision, which had been made days ago, but did not provide any details about the reasons.
The responsible committee based its decision on the “evidence and legal arguments that the ingestion of DHEA, the substance for which Mr Pogba tested positive, was not intentional,” it said in a statement. The positive doping result was the “result of erroneously taking a dietary supplement that had been prescribed to him by a doctor in Florida.”
Pogba had high testosterone levels during a check last August after a Serie A game between Juventus and Udinese Calcio. The B sample confirmed the result. Pogba had appealed the decision to the CAS and denied using banned means to improve performance. However, the responsible Italian sports court banned him for four years at the end of February.
The footballer admitted that he had taken a nutritional supplement whose package leaflet referred to performance-enhancing substances. The panel therefore concluded that Pogba “is not free from blame and, as a professional footballer, he should have exercised greater care in the circumstances.” DHEA is a highly potent steroid hormone. It can also be misused for doping purposes.
According to CAS, the 18-month ban applies from September 11, 2023. This means Pogba can play football again from March next year. However, as the “Gazzetta dello Sport” reports, his club is currently considering legal steps to terminate the contract with Pogba. There was initially no official information or reaction from Juventus Turin.
2024-10-07 14:13:30