Paul Pogba doping ban reduced from 4 years to 18 months

FILE - Juventus' Paul Pogba controls the ball during an Italian Cup soccer match between Internazionale and Juventus, at the Giuseppe Meazza San Siro Stadium, in Milan, Italy, April 26, 2023. (Spada / LaPresse via AP, File)

Paul Pogba has had his four-year ban for doping reduced to 18 months after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The ruling means the France World Cup winner will be free to resume his career in March 2025.

CAS confirmed earlier reports that the ban was reduced when approached by The Associated Press on Friday. CAS did not elaborate on the decision.

“Finally the nightmare is over,” Pogba said in a statement. “Following the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again.”

The Juventus midfielder tested positive for testosterone in August last year and was handed the maximum punishment by Italy’s anti-doping court.

At the time, Pogba said “the verdict is incorrect” and appealed to the Switzerland-based CAS.

Four-year bans are standard under the world anti-doping code but can be reduced in cases where an athlete can prove their doping was not intentional, if the positive test was a result of contamination or if they provide “substantial assistance” to help investigators.

“I always stated that I never knowingly breached World Anti-Doping Agency regulations when I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes," Pogba said. “I play with integrity, and although I must accept that this is a strict liability offence, I want to place on record my thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s judges who heard my explanation.

“This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has been put on hold.”

The 31-year-old Pogba was the most expensive soccer player in history when he joined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of 105 million euros ($113 million) in 2016.

He starred in France's World Cup triumph in 2018 and returned to Juventus as a free agent in 2022. But injuries limited him to just eight Serie A appearances in his second spell at the club before his ban.

Pogba was suspended after the positive test was announced in September last year.

“I just cannot wait to get back on the pitch,” he said.