Paul Pogba does not yet know if he will resume training with Juventus Turin in December, and even less if he will wear the Bianconeri jersey again while he is under contract until June 2026, but he has taken note , Monday, of the formalization by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) of his reduction of sentence from four years to eighteen months. The 31-year-old French international midfielder will therefore be able to play again in March.
“Most of the evidence provided by Mr Pogba has not been disputed”writes the CAS, in its press release, which however specifies that “Mr Pogba is not beyond reproach and as a professional footballer, he should have been more vigilant in the circumstances”. The 2018 world champion, who was sentenced on September 11, 2023 by the Italian Anti-Doping Agency following a positive test for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) carried out on August 20, 2023, had pleaded the ingestion of a food supplement prescribed by a doctor in Florida, who had already treated several high-level athletes, without knowing that what he was taking was prohibited by the regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The CAS agreed and it is for this reason that it “partially upheld the appeal lodged by Paul Pogba”.
In conclusion of its press release, the CAS therefore announces that its decision is “final and binding, except for the right of the parties to appeal to the Swiss Federal Court within thirty days on limited grounds”. If the Italian Anti-Doping Agency has not yet commented on its intentions, Pogba does not seem motivated by going further in the legal process. Friday evening, he himself had already issued a press release in which he spoke of the end of a ” nightmare “. The “Pioche” now just wants to resume the course of his career on the field. But the chances of it being at Juventus are slim.
Thiago Motta not keen to reinstate him
The doors had barely opened when, this weekend, Thiago Motta was already pushing them back and conjugating the Frenchman in the past tense: “As far as I’m concerned, Paul Pogba was a great player, but he hasn’t played for a long time. » Since September 3, 2023, precisely, twenty-nine minutes at Empoli (2-0). And he has not played a full match since March 12, 2022 (Manchester United – Tottenham, 3-2). In Turin, management is already working with the player’s lawyers on a contract termination.
Each of the two parties knows that it is in their interest to reach a solution. Juve, convinced of having the right with it, so as not to have to reinstate an element which it no longer wants and which it will not use. And Pogba, to play football again and find sporting prospects.
