A quiet Monday evening was shattered by loud news from Italy. Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba was accused of doping. Now the star player faces a ban of up to four years if all suspicions are confirmed.

For the 30-year-old Frenchman, such an outcome would mean the end of his career.

The oldest doping

Several Italian publications immediately reported about Pogba’s troubles, but the notes were stingy with details. They only talked about passing a positive testosterone test at the end of the first round of Serie A match between Udinese and Juventus. In that game, held on August 20, Pogba did not take part, sitting on the bench for the entire 90 minutes. Typically, players are randomly selected for doping tests after a game, including substitutes.

Paul Pogba / Photo: © Stefano Guidi / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

It is difficult to say that Pogba will certainly be disqualified. The Italian National Anti-Doping Committee is conducting an investigation, during which the Juve midfielder is suspended from football activities. According to the rules, a player can request an autopsy of a repeat sample, but the discrepancy between its results and what was shown by sample A is almost impossible. Pogba definitely shouldn’t hope for this. The only chance is to convincingly justify yourself and talk about the reasons for the doping entering the body. However, even this will not protect the player from punishment. The main question is how long Pogba will be banned.

Testosterone is a natural male sex hormone that affects sexual function, bone health, and muscle mass. Scientists have long learned to artificially reproduce testosterone, which instantly became one of the most popular types of doping related to anabolic steroids. Testosterone can be considered the grandfather of doping. Athletes have been actively using it since the 40s of the last century, but with the improvement of anti-doping methods, its use has become impractical.

The effect of using synthesized testosterone on the body is to accelerate protein synthesis, which leads to accelerated growth of muscle tissue. In a month you can increase muscle mass by several kilograms, burn fat, and improve your body’s endurance. This result is especially important for an athlete to achieve while getting in shape. For example, after an injury. Pogba spent almost the entire last season on sick leave and really wanted to approach the start of the new championship in perfect condition.

The star has already been preventively disqualified

Paul Pogba Photo: © Valerio Pennicino / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Pogba has almost no chance of avoiding disqualification. In the case of a positive sample B, which will be positive with a probability of 99.9%, the standard procedure will begin. The Anti-Doping Committee will conduct an investigation, following which it will make a decision. The period of disqualification will largely depend on the behavior of the player himself and his admission of guilt. If Pogba starts to resist, he will probably get it in full. During the investigation, Juve’s highest paid player, who receives 8 million euros a year, has already been preventively disqualified.

So far Pogba has not made any comments. The player’s agent predictably came to the client’s defense:

“We are waiting for the second sample to be opened and until then we can’t say anything.” Paul Pogba definitely never wanted to break the rules,” said Rafael Pimenta.

In these words one can discern a hint of no intention of doping. Surely the defense will insist that the prohibited drug entered Pogba’s body by accident. In this case, the period of disqualification can be halved: from four to two years.

In Italy, the issue of combating doping is approached as strictly as possible. You can remember last year’s story with Keith Balde, who, after moving to Spartak, was disqualified for several months simply for violating the doping control procedure. There was no talk at all about the use of illegal drugs at that time. The Cagliari player was unable to take the test due to the fact that the head coach gave the team a dressing down in the locked locker room. As an excuse, it still didn’t work. Pogba’s situation is much more serious now.

Edgar Davids / Photo: © Tony Marshall / EMPICS / Contributor / Bongarts / Gettyimages.ru

In recent years, football players have been caught for doping infrequently, and scandals with stars of Pogba’s level have not happened since the high-profile story of another Juve leader, Edgar Davids. In 2001, the Dutch midfielder was caught using nandrolone. Then the lawyers were able to prove that the cause was the use of cough syrup, which included a drug banned in sports. As a result, the disqualification was reduced from eight to four months.

Juventus tried to get rid of Pogba in the summer

Pogba returned to Turin after six years at Manchester United last summer. Juventus did not have to pay the English for the star player, who became a free agent, but the striker still cost the club dearly. The Frenchman was given a luxurious contract for four years, according to which he was supposed to earn 32 million euros. Almost immediately it became clear that this was not Juve’s most far-sighted investment.

Pogba was forced to undergo treatment for almost the entire 2022/23 season. After signing a contract with the Turin team, the Frenchman injured his meniscus. In the fall, he was overcome by a knee injury, which prevented him from playing at the World Championships. But at France’s victorious World Cup in Russia, Pogba was one of the team leaders and even scored against the Croats in the final.

A return to the field was expected after the New Year, but it had to be postponed due to another injury. After problems with the knee, various muscle injuries were revealed. As a result, he played for the first time this season only in February. Due to his health condition, he was allowed onto the field only at the end of the matches.

Paul Pogba Photo: © Daniele Badolato – Juventus FC / Contributor / Juventus FC / Gettyimages.ru

In total, Pogba played 10 matches and only started once. It ended with another injury and substitution in the first half. The end of the season again had to be spent on sick leave, healing a hamstring injury.

He again met the new season on the bench, where he sat through the entire game against Udinese on August 20, at the end of which the same doping test took place. Later, Pogba came on as a substitute twice in matches against Bologna and Empoli, but was not remembered for anything special on the field. At the end of the last game on September 3, Massimiliano Allegri announced another injury to the 30-year-old midfielder.

It is not surprising that the club’s management dreamed of getting rid of the problematic and expensive player. In this context, the offer from Saudi Arabia was a real gift for Juve. Al-Ahly and Al-Ittihad were ready to take Pogba, waiting until the last minute for the player’s decision. Paul responded with a categorical refusal, thereby angering the bosses of the Turin club. Pogba’s transfer would allow Juve to earn several tens of millions and would relieve the payroll. But the Frenchman never agreed to go to the Middle East.

Now Pogba will probably regret a hundred times that he did not go to Saudi Arabia. Doping problems and a long disqualification will mean an automatic termination of the fat contract with Juventus. Paul risks not only not receiving the remaining 20 million euros under the agreement, but also remaining in debt to the club. At one time, due to similar problems, striker Adrian Mutu, who was disqualified for using cocaine, ended up with big money. As a result, Chelsea not only abandoned the player, but also billed him 17 million euros for violating the contract without a valid reason.