France and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been banned from football 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. The 2018 World Cup winner tested positive for testosterone after Juventus' game against Udinese on Aug. 20, 2023.

Pogba opted not to make a plea bargain with Italy's anti-doping agency, so the case was tried before the country's anti-doping court. A person with direct knowledge of the case confirmed the verdict 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.

Pogba, 30, 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 to '16. Pogba then drew the ire of Juventus fans by posting a photo of him at a ski resort during his rehabilitation from the meniscus tear and there was disappointment when he was dropped for showing up late to the team get-together before the Europa League last-16 tie with Freiburg this time last year.

Overall, Pogba has played 213 minutes in a year and a half. If the ban is upheld, by the time he becomes eligible to play again, he won’t have played regularly for almost six years. Some will call it a tremendous waste of talent. Others will counter that Pogba achieved more by the age of 31 than most footballers could ever dream of.