Doping – Sports Court justifies reduced ban for Pogba

According to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, the former French soccer world champion Paul Pogba did not dope intentionally. The highest sports court in Lausanne justified the doping ban for the 31-year-old Juventus midfielder, which was shortened from four years to 18 months. The Cas confirmed reports about this decision a few days ago, but did not provide any details about the reasoning. The responsible body based its decision on the “evidence and legal arguments that the ingestion of DHEA, the substance for which Mr Pogba tested positive, was not intentional,” said a Cas statement. The positive doping result was the “result of erroneously taking a dietary supplement that had been prescribed to him by a doctor in Florida.”

Pogba had high testosterone levels during a check in August last year after a Serie A game between Juventus and Udinese Calcio. The B sample confirmed the result. Pogba had appealed the decision to the CAS and denied having used banned means to improve performance. However, the responsible Italian sports court banned him for four years at the end of February.

The footballer admitted that he had taken a dietary supplement whose package leaflet referred to performance-enhancing substances. The panel therefore concluded that Pogba “is not free from blame and, as a professional footballer, he should have exercised greater care in the circumstances.” DHEA is a highly potent steroid hormone. It can also be abused for doping purposes.