Paul Pogba is set to return to professional football after his four-year doping ban was reduced to 18 months. The reduced sentence comes after the midfielder’s successful appeal.
Pogba was initially suspended after testing positive for DHEA, a banned substance that raises testosterone levels, following Juventus’s 3-0 win over Udinese in Serie A last August. The 31-year-old denied any wrongdoing and maintained his innocence.
The doping test revealed prohibited testosterone metabolites, indicating an external origin. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has now reduced the midfielder’s ban.
With this new timeline, Pogba will be eligible to play again in March. He has a contract with Juventus until June 2026.
He expressed relief on social media, posting a photo of himself in football boots and personalized socks, accompanied by an hourglass emoji, hinting at his eagerness to return to the pitch.
“Finally the nightmare is over. I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again,” the player said in a statement.
“I always stated that I never knowingly breached world anti-doping agency regulations when I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes.”
