French professional footballer and Juventus FC midfielder Paul Pogba has reacted to the four-year ban imposed on his soccer career after he failed an anti-doping test.
The 30-year-old soccer star received a heavy punishment on Thursday from the anti-doping prosecutor’s office in Italy after testing positive for testosterone following Juventus’s early season-opening match against Serie A side, Udinese.
To get their client a lighter sentence, Pogba’s lawyers rejected a plea deal, claiming that their client had accidentally taken the substance that caused the positive test.
However, the prosecution rejected the defence presented by his attorneys, and as a result, he received a four-year ban that might end his career.
Pogba will turn 31 next month, meaning he won’t be able to return to the field until he is almost 35.
While reacting to the ban imposed on him in a statement, Pogba rejected the decision to ban him for four years, stating that he believed that the verdict is incorrect.
He noted that when he is free of legal restrictions, the full story will become clear, and he also claimed that he never knowingly or deliberately took any supplements that violated anti-doping regulations.
Pogba’s statement reads in full: “I have today been informed of the Tribunale Nazionale Antidoping’s decision and believe that the verdict is incorrect. I am sad, shocked, and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me.
‘‘When I am free of legal restrictions, the full story will become clear, but I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations.
‘‘As a professional athlete, I would never do anything to enhance my performance by using banned substances and have never disrespected or cheated fellow athletes and supporters of any of the teams I have played for or against. As a consequence of the decision announced today, I will appeal this before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.” The statement concluded.
However, according to additional sources, the divisive football player will appeal the decision made by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal (Nado), as reported by BBC Sport.
