New setbacks for Paul Pogba. The footballer, French international and midfielder for Juventus Turin, was provisionally suspended after being the subject of a positive doping test for testosterone, the Italian Anti-Doping Agency (Nado) told Agence France-Presse ). According to the Italian press, Pogba, who experienced a nightmarish 2022-2023 season punctuated by injuries, was checked after the match between Udinese and Juventus, counting for the first day of the Italian Championship, during which he did not didn't come into play.
“The National Anti-Doping Tribunal informs that in accordance with the recommendation of the National Anti-Doping Prosecutor, it has pronounced the provisional suspension of Paul Labile Pogba,” Nado said in a statement to AFP. The sanction was imposed for “violation of articles 2.1 and 2.2 for the presence of the following prohibited substances: testosterone metabolites,” she added.
Nado does not specify the date of the check, but according to the Italian press, which revealed the information, Pogba was checked on August 20 after the match between Udine and Juventus, counting for the first day of the European Championship. Italy, during which he did not enter the game. If the second opinion of his B sample confirms the presence of testosterone metabolites, he is liable to a four-year suspension.
Pogba, 30, has had a nightmarish 2022-23 season on and off the pitch. The 2018 world champion collected injuries, which limited the number of matches played this year to ten and deprived him of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He was also the victim of an organized extortion attempt in which one of his brothers, Mathias, was involved.
On August 27, Pogba, whose last match was on May 14, made his competitive return during his team's home draw against Bologna (1-1) in the Italian Championship. “Of course, I'm happy to have returned to the field, to be able to do again what I love most of all in the world, to feel good physically and to be able to help the team,” he told the DAZN platform at the end of the match.
He came on the following weekend during the match against Empoli, counting for the 3rd day, but finished the match diminished due to pain in his right thigh. The examinations had proved reassuring.
Shortly before the announcement of his positive test, the Frenchman assured that he had the “rage” and “the desire to play” this season, believing that his extra-sporting problems had made him “stronger”, in an interview broadcast by Al Jazeera.
