The Italian Anti-Doping Agency decided to ban a midfielder Juventus The French national football team Paul Pogba Temporarily after he was found to be taking the banned hormone testosterone, she told Agence France-Presse on Monday.
The Italian press reported that Pogba, who missed most of the 2022-2023 season and only played 10 matches due to injuries, failed the doping test that he underwent after the match between Juventus and its host Udinese in the first stage of the league, in which he did not participate.
This suspension is considered a very severe blow to his dream of returning to his previous level after he suffered greatly due to injuries.
Italian news agency ANSA reported on Monday afternoon that Pogba showed elevated levels of testosterone in a blood test he took after beating Udinese 3-0 on August 20.
The Italian Anti-Doping Agency said: “The National Anti-Doping Court announces that, in accordance with the recommendation of the National Anti-Doping Prosecutor, it has issued a provisional suspension decision against Paul Labelle Pogba.”
She added that the penalty was issued due to “violation of Articles 2.1 and 2.2 for the presence of the following prohibited substances: testosterone metabolites.” Although he remained on the bench and did not participate in the match, Pogba was one of those randomly selected to undergo the test.
In this case, the player can request a counter analysis to ensure that there are no errors in the sample.
Within the next seven days, Sample B will be analyzed by the same laboratory that examined Sample A. If the result is positive, the player will be automatically suspended pending a ruling.
The 30-year-old faces the risk of being suspended for up to four years, according to Italian media, if it is found that he took performance-enhancing drugs.
He can also display his condition if he took any substance without his knowledge in order to treat a medical problem, which led to an increase in testosterone levels in his blood.
Pogba’s advisors refused to respond to questions from the French news agency, and Juventus was the only one who wrote on this issue, saying in a brief statement, “We reserve the possibility of evaluating the next stages of the procedure,” which indicates a move to request an anti-test for the first sample.
Pogba returned to Juventus last season, coming from Manchester United, which regained his services from the Turin giant in the summer of 2016 after also defending its colors during the 2011-2012 season before leaving for the “Old Lady.”
He did not enjoy his return to Juventus, as he suffered an injury during a warm-up match that forced him to undergo surgery to remove the cartilage in his knee, which kept him out of the field for a long time. He was limited to playing six matches in the Italian League last season and ten in total, while he played only one match this season.
A severe blow to the dream of a strong comeback
The suspension of Pogba, who missed the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year, where the French team reached the final before losing to Lionel and his teammates in the Argentine team, comes on the day that the Qatari Al Jazeera channel published an interview with him in which he said that he was determined to return to the stadiums this season with a “fighting spirit and a desire to… “Playing” after a disastrous season that could have been “ruined” by injuries and especially non-sporting problems.
“I’ve had a difficult year, so I have this fighting spirit, this desire to play football and enjoy it until the end of my career,” Pogba said. “It’s as if I’m 18 years old again.”
He added, “Many believe that I am finished, that I am dead, that Pogba is no longer here, that I am no longer one of the best players, that I am no longer a good player, and that I am still injured….”
He added, “But I am not weak. You can say bad things about me. I will never give up,” promising, “I will always work harder, and always give more, and I will have to show them my level, again.”
France 24/AFP
2023-09-12 13:54:31
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