PAUL POGBA’s top flight football career looks to be over – after Italian prosecutors called for a four YEAR ban.
The France and former Manchester United midfielder, 30, was provisionally suspended last month following a sample taken after Juventus’ win at Udinese on August 20.
Italian prosecutors have called for Paul Pogba to be banned for four yearsCredit: Rex
The midfielder, an unused substitute, tested positive for banned substance DHEA which naturally boosts testosterone production.
Pogba, who has played just a handful of minutes since he returned to Juve in the summer of 2022 after knee and thigh injuries – including missing the Qatar World Cup – was suspended on September 11, pending the second analysis.
That B-sample also gave a positive response, leaving Pogba facing a lengthy ban.
The France star claimed the failure may have been due to supplements imported from the US that he has taken as part of his recovery programme.
Pogba hoped the mitigation might sway prosecutors away from recommending the mandatory four-year ban under world anti-doping rules that are followed by the Italian Olympic Committee.
But Italian media sources have revealed prosecutors are asking for a four year suspension despite Pogba’s arguments.
And, unless a plea bargain can be reached to reduce the sentence at the final hearing, expected early next year, Pogba is facing up to being sacked by Juve for breach of his contract, due to run until 2026.
Pogba initially joined Man Utd in 2009 and went into the clubs reserves until he left for Juventus in 2012.
After spending four years with the Italian outfit, Man Utd paid a then club-record fee of £89million to bring him back to Old Trafford.
He spent six years at Man Utd before leaving on a free transfer in 2022.
