France and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been banned for four years for a doping offence.
Pogba was provisionally suspended by Italy's national anti-doping (NADO Italia) tribunal in September after testing positive for testosterone -- a banned substance.
Italian prosecutors requested a maximum four-year ban in December.
Pogba tested positive for testosterone after Juventus' game against Udinese on Aug. 20 2023. He did not play in the match but was on the bench.
Paul Pogba is in his second spell as a Juventus player. Stefano Guidi/Getty Images
Reports claim Pogba will appeal against the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. ESPN has contacted Pogba's representatives for comment.
Pogba opted not to make a plea bargain with Italy's anti-doping agency and so the case was tried before the country's anti-doping court. A person with direct knowledge of the case confirmed the verdict to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the sentence was not made public due to Italy's privacy laws.
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.
The 30-year-old returned to Juventus in 2022 after his second stint at Manchester United. Since his return to Italy he was hampered by injuries. He played in 178 matches for Juventus from 2012-16.
He was ruled out of France's run to the World Cup final in 2022 due to a knee injury.
There has also been a police investigation ongoing in France into allegations that Pogba was targeted by extortionists -- including by his older brother Mathias, who has denied any wrongdoing.
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this story.
Source: espn.co.uk