French footballer Paul Pogba has received a four-year ban from all football after doping charges were proven against him.
The ban will apply from when Pogba first tested positive in 2023 and remain in effect till 2027.
Pogba’s career is now in doubt as he will be 34 years old when the ban ends.
The midfielder, who plays for Italian club Juventus, was suspended in September last year after testing positive for testosterone metabolites. However, the suspension had been called a ‘precaution’.
He had tested positive for a compound named DHEA, which promotes the production of hormones in the body.
“Paul never wanted to break the rules,” Pogba’s agent Rafaela Pimenta had said, adding that the player would fight to clear his name from the charges.
He had initially asked for a counter-analysis for the test, but the resutls had come back positive again.
However, doping bans can end if the person convicted proves that it was unintentional or if the drugs were taken due to contamination.
This story is being updated.