CAS confirms Paul Pogba's doping ban reduced from 4 years to 18 months; reveals reveals why

Paul Pogba’s doping suspension has been reduced from four years to 18 months after experts backed his claims of inadvertently consuming a banned substance, according to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The French international was provisionally suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping organization (NADO Italia) in September 2023 after testing positive for DHEA, a substance that increases testosterone levels.

CAS on Monday confirmed the sentence reduction last week, with Pogba expressing that his “nightmare is over.” The 31-year-old, whose contract with Juventus runs until June 2026, will be eligible to return to football in March.

In a statement, CAS noted that Pogba claimed his ingestion of DHEA was unintentional and resulted from taking a supplement prescribed to him by a medical doctor in Florida.

“The CAS Panel in charge of the matter partially upheld the appeal filed by Paul Pogba,” the statement reads.

“It has confirmed the ADRV but reduced the sanction imposed on the Player to an 18-month period of ineligibility, commencing on 11 September 2023, and cancelled the fine," the statement added.

“The CAS Panel based its decision on the evidence and legal arguments made that Mr Pogba’s ingestion of DHEA, the substance for which he tested positive, was not intentional and was the result of erroneously taking a supplement prescribed to him by a medical doctor in Florida after Mr Pogba had been given assurances that the medical doctor, who had claimed to treat several high-level US and international athletes was knowledgeable and would be mindful of Mr Pogba’s anti-doping obligations under the World Anti-Doping Code," the statement further said.

“Mr Pogba sought a sanction of only 12 months in recognition of the presence of some fault on his part (he did not seek a determination of no fault or negligence from the CAS Panel). NADO Italia argued that the Player’s recklessness was serious and justified a 4-year ban. Mr Pogba’s case was supported by several experts. Much of the evidence provided by Mr Pogba was unopposed. The CAS Panel determined, however, that Mr Pogba was not without fault and that, as a professional football player, he should have paid a greater care in the circumstances," the statement concluded.

Pogba last appeared for Juventus in a 2-0 victory against Empoli over a year ago. His second stint with the club has been disappointing due to injuries since rejoining the Turin side after leaving Manchester United on a free transfer in 2022.

Paul Pogba tested positive for doping in August 2023 and has not trained with Juventus since September of the previous year. Despite being under contract with the Serie A club until June 2026, multiple sources report that he is no longer part of coach Thiago Motta's plans. According to Sky Sport Italia, Juventus is now preparing to initiate talks to terminate Pogba’s contract.

Reports from last week indicated that Juventus intended to end Pogba’s contract even after his ban was reduced. Both coach Thiago Motta and director Cristiano Giuntoli have remarked that Pogba “was” a great player, with Giuntoli stating on Sunday that Juventus was awaiting the official CAS statement before making any decisions.