Paul Pogba tests positive for testosterone in counter-analysis sample
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 6 Oct 2023 14:21 BST
- 3 min read
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has tested positive for testosterone doping for a second time and now faces a football ban.
The Frenchman initially tested positive after traces of testosterone were found in testing following Juventus’ win over Udinese on the opening day of the season on 20 August.
He demanded counter-analysis and those results have returned a second positive test, as reported by Gianluca Di Marzio.
READ MORE: Pogba, Balotelli and the biggest wasted talents of all time
Pogba had been provisionally suspended following the first positive test and could now face a football ban of up to four years.
According to Fabrizio Romano, "Juventus will now decide how to proceed with his contract as Pogba faces risk of long-term ban."
News of Pogba's first positive doping test emerged in September, with Juventus confirming that the player had received a 'precautionary suspension order'.
READ MORE: Juventus line up Pogba replacement
A statement read: "Juventus Football Club announces that today, September 11, 2023, the footballer Paul Labile Pogba received a precautionary suspension order from the National Anti-Doping Tribunal following the results of tests carried out on August 20, 2023. The club reserves the right to consider the next procedural steps."
The Frenchman had three days to provide a counter-analysis of the result, with a second sample then checked before Pogba was declared to have failed the test.
With news that Pogba's counter-analysis sample has also returned a positive test, the former Manchester United midfielder will face a hearing unless he admits to taking the banned substance.
Pogba risks a ban of up to four years, with testosterone on the list of substances that cannot be taken with a therapeutic exemption despite often being used to treat injuries outside of football.
Who will Juventus sign to replace Pogba?
With Pogba set for a footballing ban, Juventus have been heavily linked with signing a replacement.
Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram is currently being monitored, while Man Utd target and Benfica wonderkid Joao Neves is also on their list.
