Paul Pogba to appeal against doping ban

Pogba has vowed to appeal the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), stressing that he is innocent and that he had never taken any substance knowingly that comes under the purview of doping.

French football star Paul Pogba has been banned for four years for testing positive for doping in 2023. Pogba, who has won the FIFA World Cup, was banned by Italy's Anti-Dopring Tribunal (NADO Italia) on Thursday, 29 February for testing positive for a banned substance, used back in 2023.

Pogba has vowed to appeal the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), stressing that he is innocent and that he had never taken any substance knowingly that comes under the purview of doping.

Pogba took to Instagram to upload a statement, hours after he was banned by the authorities and alleged that everything that he had built during his football career was being taken away from him.

"I have today been informed of the Tribunale Nazionale Antidoping’s decision and believe that the verdict is incorrect. I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me," Pogba wrote on his Instagram account.

"When I am free of legal restrictions the full story will become clear, but I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations. As a professional athlete I would never do anything to enhance my performance by using banned substances and have never disrespected or cheated fellow athletes and supporters of any of the teams I have played for, or against," stressed the footballer.

"As a consequence of the decision announced today I will appeal this before the Court of Arbitration for Sport," he concluded.