Paul Pogba Has Been Banned from Football for 4 Years due to Doping
Paul Pogba has been suspended from football for four years after a failed anti-doping test.
Juventus midfielder Pogba, 30, was initially handed a provisional suspension by NADO (the Italian Anti-Doping Organisation) in September after the failed test, which followed his side’s 3-0 win at Udinese on August 20.
FIFA’s guidelines for suspensions on players who violate its anti-doping regulations ranges between two and four years, depending on whether it can be proven that the rule violation was intentional.
Pogba’s suspension is subject to a possible appeal.
Widespread reports in Italy on February 29, 2024 claimed Pogba has been given a four-year ban from football for a doping violation, having returned elevated testosterone levels following a random drugs test after the match against Udinese last August.
In a statement, the National Anti-Doping Tribunal said: “The National Anti-Doping Tribunal, accepting the instance proposed by the National Anti-Doping Prosecutor’s Office, has provisionally suspended the athlete Paul Labile Pogba (FIGC member) for the violation of articles 2.1, 2.2 (Non-endogenous testosterone metabolites (Substance detected: The GC/c/IRMS results are consistent with the exogenous origin of the target compounds). The test was carried out by NADO Italia.”
Juventus released a statement that said: “Juventus Football Club announces that today, 11 September, 2023, the footballer Paul Labile Pogba received a precautionary suspension order from the National Anti-Doping Tribunal following the results of tests carried out on 20 August, 2023. The club reserves the right to consider the next procedural steps.”
Things got worse for Pogba on October 6 when his B-sample also came back positive.
What is Doping?
Doping is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the following Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs):
- Presence of a prohibited substance in an athlete’s sample
- Use or attempted use of a prohibited substance or method
- Refusing to submit to sample collection after being notified
- Failure to file athlete whereabouts information and missed tests
- Tampering with any part of the doping control process
- Possession of a prohibited substance or method
- Trafficking a prohibited substance or method
- Administering or attempting to administer a prohibited substance or method to an athlete
- Complicity in an ADRV
- Prohibited association with athlete support personnel who has engaged in doping
Why is doping in sport prohibited?
The use of doping substances or doping methods to enhance performance is fundamentally wrong and is detrimental to the overall spirit of sport. Drug misuse can be harmful to an athlete’s health and to other athletes competing in the sport.
It severely damages the integrity, image and value of sport, whether or not the motivation to use drugs is to improve performance. To achieve integrity and fairness in sport, a commitment to clean sport is critical.
