October 18 – Former French international midfield star Paul Pogba has hit back at his critics by insisting he is not a drugs cheat after his original four-year ban was reduced to 18 months earlier this month by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
In an interview with Sky, the former Juventus and Manchester United star said he has “never taken performance-enhancing drugs” and that his ingestion of a banned substance “was not intentional”.
The 31-year-old was suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal (Nado) in February after a drugs test found elevated levels of testosterone – a hormone that increases endurance – in his system.
” I’m not a cheater,” Pogba insisted. “I’m someone that loves my sport, I love the game and I would never, ever cheat. I like to win fairly. I’m a bad loser but I’m not a cheater.”
The reduced ban started from 11 September 2023, meaning Pogba can resume training in January and will be eligible to play again from March.
What he took wasn’t performance-enhancing, he said, but “just supplements. Just normal things to improve health” and it was a “shocking moment when I found out [he had tested positive]”.
Pogba admitted that he takes “some responsibility because I took the supplement…but it should never be four years.”
Pogba remains under contract with Juventus until the summer of 2026, and is looking forward to getting back to training with the rest of the squad.
“I would just like to be on the pitch, any pitch. First it’s with Juventus. I want to be on the training with team mates, it’s tough to be alone, playing passes on to the wall. My main focus is to get back training, be fit and to be on the pitch doing what I love.”
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