(Rome) French Juventus Turin international Paul Pogba has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for testosterone, the Italian Anti-Doping Agency (NADO) announced on Monday.
“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 come into play.
If the counter-expertise 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 suffered a series of 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 attempted extortion by an organized gang in which one of his brothers, Mathias, was notably involved.
on August 27, Pogba, whose last match dated back to May 14, made his return to competition when his team drew at home 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 above all else in the world, to feel good physically and to be able to help the team,” he told the platform DAZN after the match.
He entered the game the following weekend during the game against Empoli, counting for the third day, but ended the game weakened due to a pain in the right thigh.
The examinations proved reassuring.
Pau 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.