Paul Pogba's Suspension Reduced to 18 Months from Four Years for Drug Violation

French international footballer Paul Pogba's four-year ban for doping has been significantly reduced to just 18 months, according to a spokesperson from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Oct 4.

“I can confirm the decision: an 18-month suspension with effect from Sept 11, 2023. The reasons for the decision will follow later,” the CAS spokesperson told AFP.

Pogba, who is under contract with Juventus until 2026, will be able to return to competitive football from March 11, 2025, four days before his 32nd birthday.

Pogba tested positive for testosterone in August 2023 after a match between Juventus and Udinese.

He was provisionally suspended in September of the same year, and then banned for four years by the Italian National Anti-Doping Tribunal the following February.

Pogba’s representatives said the testosterone came from a food supplement prescribed by a doctor he consulted in the United States.

After the ban was announced, Pogba posted on his Instagram account that he had “never knowingly or deliberately” taken doping products.

“I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me,” he wrote

On Oct 4 evening, after the CAS ruling, his post was wordless, showing only a close-up of two feet wearing Pogba football boots with socks bearing his initials and decorated with the French flag and the two World Cup stars.