(Rome) Italian anti-doping prosecutors on Thursday requested the maximum sanction for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, that is to say that he be suspended for four years after testing positive for testosterone.
Pogba has chosen not to reach an out-of-court settlement with the Italian Anti-Doping Agency, meaning a trial will take place in the country’s anti-doping court.
If a four-year ban is handed down, then it will likely end the sporting career of Pogba, who is 30 years old.
A four-year suspension is fairly common in this type of case under the World Anti-Doping Code, but it can be reduced if the targeted athlete can demonstrate that he did not do intentionally, if the positive doping test is the result of contamination or if it offers “substantial assistance” to anti-doping investigators.
Pogba’s positive test was announced in September. The offending sample was taken following a match between Juventus and Udinese on August 20. Pogba did not take part in this meeting, but he was on the team bench.
Pogba has still not made any public comments on this matter.
“From a human point of view, I feel sorry for Paul,” Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri recalled in October.
