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.
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French professional soccer player Paul Pogba stands in a VIP suite at the start of an MLS soccer match between Inter Miami and Charlotte FC, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden had terse words for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, and said he didn't know whether the Israeli leader was holding up a peace deal in order to influence the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
“No administration has helped Israel more than I have,” Biden said. “None. None, none. And I think Bibi should remember that. And whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know but I’m not counting on that.”
Biden, in a rare appearance in the White House press briefing room, was responding to comments made by one of his allies, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who said on CNN this week that he was concerned Netanyahu had little interest in a peace deal in part because of U.S. politics.
The two leaders have long managed a complicated relationship, but they’re running out of space to maneuver as their views on the Gaza war diverge and their political futures hang in the balance.
The president has long pushed for a cease-fire agreement and he and his aides have indicated several times over the past few months that such an agreement was close. But it never seems to materialize, and in some cases, Netanyahu has publicly resisted the prospect while U.S. and Israeli officials continue to talk in private about eking out a deal.
Meanwhile, Israel has pressed forward on two fronts, pursuing a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah that left eight Israeli soldiers dead and conducting strikes in Gaza that killed dozens, including children. And the nation has vowed to retaliate for Iran’s ballistic missile attack this week, as the region braced for further escalation.
Biden said there had been no decision yet on what type of response there would be toward Iran, though there has been talk about Israel striking Iran's oil fields — and "I think if I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields.”
Biden pushed back against the idea that he was seeking a meeting with Netanyahu to discuss the response to Iran. He isn't, he said.
“I’m assuming when they make a decision on how they’re going to respond, we will then have a discussion," he said.
Netanyahu has grown increasingly resistant to Biden’s public charm offensives and private pleading, prompting the president’s more assertive pushback. And Biden has in turn publicly held up delivery of heavy bombs to Israel and increasingly voiced concerns over an all-out war in the Middle East.
“I don’t believe there’s going to be an all-out war,” Biden said Thursday evening. “I think we can avoid it. But there's a lot to do yet. A lot to do yet.”
Biden has remained consistent in his support for Israel’s defense and security and in the aftermath of the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel. Since then, with few exceptions, Biden has supported ongoing and enhanced U.S. arms transfers to Israel while cautioning the Israelis to be careful in their responses to avoid civilian casualties.
Biden has also ordered the U.S. military to step up its profile in the region to protect Israel from attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Iran itself. In April, and again earlier this week, the U.S. was a leading player in shooting down missiles fired by Iran into Israel.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calls on a reporter as President Joe Biden makes a surprise appearance to take questions during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Joe Biden speaks to the media in the White House press room, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Joe Biden speaks during a surprise appearance to take questions during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
