MAX SPORTS: Paul Pogba

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Thursday, 17 October 2024

PAUL POGBA DRIVEN BY ANGER TO RETURN BETTER FROM DOPING BAN

Getty

Paul Pogba has warned he will return to football "even better" from his ban for taking a prohibited substance, stating that he is driven by "anger" at his absence.

The 2018 World Cup winner is set to restart his career in March 2025 after seeing his ban for taking DHEA, a testosterone-enhancing supplement, reduced from four years to 18 months.

"For sure. It's going to be a new Pogba," he said when asked by ESPN if he can reach the heights of his peak despite the enforced break from the sport. "That's definitely for sure. And in the positive way, like I said, with more hunger, with more determination.

"I feel like a kid that just want to be professional again, that never signed professional. So this is the anger I have. That's what drives me. And I will do everything to come back at the level I was before and even better. Why not?"

Pogba, who told ESPN that he considered retiring before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the severity of his ban, said he is determined to prove his fitness after injuries blighted his latter years at Manchester United and his return to Juventus.

After rejoining the Serie A side in 2022, Pogba managed just 161 minutes in 10 appearances in all competitions in the 2022-23 season as he was affected by knee, hamstring and groin problems.

"When you're injured mentally you probably get injured also physically," the 31-year-old said. "So one of the important things was to clean all that and have only positive energy around me, and obviously by being professional, by doing the right thing -- you're not 18 anymore for sure.

"So you have to take care of yourself and I want to dedicate all this time that I have and for the next year to dedicate on obviously what I love the most and to be at the level I want to be."

Pogba also said he is intent looking at football in a different light after nearly seeing his livelihood abruptly ended.

"When they take something from you that you love so much and that's when you appreciate it the most," he said. "So I see football totally different now, and I will enjoy every moment that I will have until the end of my career.

"Because I see [the ban as] a test, I've tested something like what would happen at the end of your career when you don't play anymore. So I just want to appreciate it, enjoy it and make people enjoy it."

Pogba and his entourage are holding contract termination talks with Juventus ahead of his planned return to football next March.

- Julien Laurens, Correspondent

Saturday, 5 October 2024

PAUL POGBA'S DOPING BAN REDUCED TO 18 MONTHS AFTER CAS APPEAL

Paul Pogba has not played a competitive game in over a year. Stefano Guidi/Getty Images

World Cup winner Paul Pogba's doping suspension has been reduced to 18 months from an initial four years, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Friday.

"The suspension is now 18 months, starting Sept. 11, 2023," CAS director general Matthieu Reeb told Reuters.

The decision means that the former France international will be eligible to make a return to competitive football in March 2025.

Pogba welcomed the decision in a statement.

"Finally the nightmare is over," he said. "Following the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again.

"I always stated that I never knowingly breached World Anti-Doping Agency regulations when I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes."

Four-year bans are standard under the World Anti-Doping Code but can be reduced in cases where an athlete can prove their doping was not intentional, if the positive test was a result of contamination or if they provide "substantial assistance" to help investigators.

Pogba, 31, has not played since August 2023 after he tested positive for DHEA -- a banned substance that raises levels of testosterone -- following Juventus' Serie A game against Udinese.

He was provisionally suspended by Italy's national anti-doping (NADO Italia) tribunal in September that year before being handed a four-year ban in February 2024.

Pogba, who has a contract with Juventus until June 2026, denied any wrongdoing and said he would appeal to CAS.

"I play with integrity and, although I must accept that this is a strict liability offence, I want to place on record my thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport's judges who heard my explanation," he added in Friday's statement.

"This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has been put on hold.

"I just cannot wait to get back on the pitch."

Sources told ESPN's Julien Laurens that Pogba has worked to maintain his fitness during his ban and he believes it won't take long for him to regain match sharpness, despite not playing a competitive game in almost 14 months.

Pogba returned to Juventus in 2022 after his second stint at Manchester United. After his return to Italy, he was hampered by injuries. He played in 178 matches for Juventus from 2012 to 2016.

He was ruled out of France's run to the World Cup final in 2022 with a knee injury.

Pogba helped France win the previous World Cup, scoring in the 4-2 win over Croatia in the final.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

- ESPN News Services

Monday, 1 July 2024

PAUL POGBA WITH FRENCH FANS BEFORE THE BELGIUM GAME

Paul Pogba takes a selfie with the France fans before the France vs Belgium game.

Thursday, 7 December 2023

ITALY'S SPORTS PROSECUTORS REQUEST 4-YEAR BAN FOR POGBA - MEDIA

Reuters

Italy's sports prosecutors have requested a 4-year ban for Juventus (JUVE.MI) midfielder Paul Pogba over doping allegations, sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport and other Italian media reported on Thursday.

Pogba was suspended in September after a test by Italy's national anti-doping organisation detected testosterone, a hormone that increases athletes' endurance, after Juve's 3-0 Serie A season-opening victory at Udinese on Aug. 20.

His positive doping test was confirmed in a counter-analysis on a second sample in October.

- Reuters

Friday, 6 October 2023

POGBA TESTS POSITIVE FOR TESTOSTERONE IN COUNTER-ANALYSIS ON SECOND SAMPLE

Getty

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba's positive doping test has been confirmed in a counter-analysis on a second sample, Sky Sports and ANSA news agency reported on Friday, a month after he was provisionally suspended.

Pogba was provisionally suspended last month after a test conducted by Italy's national anti-doping (NADO Italia) tribunal, detected testosterone, a hormone that increases athletes' endurance.

The test was performed after Juve's 3-0 Serie A season-opening victory at Udinese on Aug. 20.

JUVE'S POGBA PROVISIONALLY SUSPENDED AFTER TESTING POSITIVE FOR TESTOSTERONE

Juventus's France midfielder Paul Pogba has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, Italy's national anti-doping (NADO Italia) tribunal said on Monday.

The test, performed after Juve's 3-0 Serie A season-opening victory at Udinese on Aug. 20, detected testosterone, a hormone that increases athletes' endurance.

"In acceptance of the instance proposed by the National Anti-doping Prosecutor, it has provided for the provisional suspension of the athlete Paul Labile Pogba," NADO Italia said in a statement.

The tribunal said Pogba had violated anti-doping rules when they found the prohibited substance "non-endogenous testosterone metabolites", adding that the results were "consistent with the exogenous origin of the target compounds".

The 30-year-old Pogba was an unused substitute in the win at Udinese. Juventus said they had been informed of the provisional suspension and were evaluating the next steps.

If found guilty of doping, Pogba could be suspended for between two and four years. He will now await the results of the B Sample test.