Paul Pogba’s football career all but over as Juventus superstar handed 4-year ban after failed doping test

Juventus superstar Paul Pogba has been handed a four-year doping ban. Pogba’s positive test was announced in September.

Juventus superstar Paul Pogba has been reportedly handed a four-year suspension from football on Thursday. The former Manchester United midfielder was provisionally suspended in September for testing positive for testosterone. Italy's sports prosecutors had requested a 4-year ban for France's World Cup winner over the doping allegations against the playmaker. Pogba was suspended in September after Juventus recorded a 3-0 win over Udinese in the Italian Serie A opener.

Juventus' French midfielder Paul Pogba reacts after being tackled (AFP)

Pogba's anti-doping hearing was shifted from January 18 to an unspecified date, and Italy's anti-doping tribunal also accepted the demands from the French midfielder's lawyers. Earlier, Pogba's representatives refused to comment about the anti-doping hearing. Following the hearing at the NADO tribunal in Rome, Pogba was already tipped to face a lengthy ban from football. In December, anti-doping prosecutors sought a maximum 4-year ban for the Juventus midfielder.

Did you know?

Pogba could have reduced his requested ban in half if the former Manchester United star demonstrated that he did not intentionally dope. The Juventus playmaker would have only been suspended for a few months if he had been successful in proving that the banned substance was taken out of competition. According to news agency AFP, Pogba's camp asserted that the testosterone came from a food supplement prescribed by a doctor the Frenchman consulted in the United States. Pogba can appeal against the decision at the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Pogba’s football career all but over