Paul Pogba four-year ban for failing a doping test has been reduce to 18 months after his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was successful.
Pogba, who tested positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in the first game of the 2023-24 season, will be free to play for Juventus again from March next year.
“Finally the nightmare is over,” said Pogba in a statement. “Following the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again.”
Italy’s National Anti-Doping Tribunal (TNA) accepted a request from the Attorney General’s Office for Doping to ban the player for four years in March, the standard ban period under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA), meaning Pogba will not return to football until March 2027.
A four-year ban for a player using a stimulant may be reduce if the athlete can prove that the action was unintentional, result from stimulant contamination, or if they can provide significant assistance to the investigation.
Pogba added: “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.
“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.
“This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have work so hard for has been put on hold. Thank you again for all the love and support. I just cannot wait to get back on the pitch.”
The 31-year-old was bann as a precaution in September 2023 after testing positive for dehydroepiandrosterone, a compound that stimulates the body’s production of hormones, including testosterone, following Juventus’ game against Udinese on August 20.
The Frenchman did not play in the Serie A game, remaining on the bench, UFABET and then came on as a substitute for Juve in games against Bologna on August 27 and against Empoli on September 3, before his suspension was lift.