New Delhi: France and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba was provisionally suspended in September 2023 after a game between Juventus and Udinese. The 31-year-old had tested positive for testosterone in August of the same year. His representatives maintained that it wasn’t intentional on Pogba’s end and was the result of a food supplement that was prescribed by a doctor the player consulted in the United States.
However, the player was suspended regardless and in February 2024, Italy’s National Anti-Doping Tribunal, Nado, banned the player from the beautiful game for the next four years, effectively ending his career as a player. Pogba, who maintained his innocence in the matter posted on his Instagram profile, stating that he would “never knowingly or deliberately” resort to doping products.
The former Manchester United midfielder filed an appeal this past summer with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), located in Switzerland. In a turn of events, his appeal was successful and the CAS reduced Pogba’s punishment from four years to 18 months, which allows him to return to training from January 2025 and make his return to the field two months later, in March. The question that arises here is why did CAS reduce the punishment?
Why did the CAS reduce Pogba’s ban?
CAS has published its reasons for reducing Paul Pogba’s ban from four years to 18 months.
As detailed here, CAS ruled Pogba’s ingestion of DHEA was “not intentional” — result of “erroneously taking a supplement prescribed … by a doctor in Florida” pic.twitter.com/CFcbKSfJ9q
— Nside FOOTBALL (@NsideFootball) October 7, 2024
A spokesperson from the CAS said this past Friday on October 4th, “I can confirm the decision: an 18-month suspension with effect from 11 September 2023. The reasons for the decision will follow later.” The moment has now arrived as the International body for resolving disputes in sport has announced it’s reasons for reducing Paul Pogba’s four-year ban.
They accepted the player’s argument that his consumption of the banned substance wasn’t intentional and added that he should’ve paid more attention to what he was consuming. The Court confirmed his ADRV (anti-doping rule violation) but agreed to reduce his ban 18 months, with effect from 11th September 2024. This reduction in the ban allows Pogba to resume his career shortly after his 32nd birthday, which still gives him some years to play before he has to hang up his boots.
One of the biggest reasons that led to the CAS reducing Pogba’s ban was that the player didn’t seek to absolve himself of any responsibilities but instead only wanted to reduce his ban to 12 months. The court partially upheld Pogba’s appeal but maintained that the footballer wasn’t without fault and needed to pay more attention in such a circumstance, being a sportsperson. Nado wanted the ban to remain for four years, given the player’s recklessness and can be appealed to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days on limited grounds.
Switzerland’s Court of Arbitration for Sport has been involved in major sporting decision recently and have just cut down French midfielder Paul Pogba’s doping ban. Dive in to find out why. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
