Serie A: Anti-Doping Commission surprised by Pogba ‘negligence’ towards Juve
FIGC Anti-Doping Commission member Walter Della Frera was ‘surprised’ by Paul Pogba failing a doping test, especially as all signs point towards the player’s ‘negligence’, which would completely exonerate Juventus.
The midfielder tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone and the B Sample will now undergo a counter-analysis to have more details on what was flagged in his system.
Pogba risks a ban of two years if he is found to have accidentally taken the banned substance, rising to four years if it was done intentionally to boost performance.
“In any case, he is heading towards a suspension,” FIGC Anti-Doping Commission member Della Frera told Radio Punto Nuovo.
There are reports in La Gazzetta dello Sport that Pogba confessed to Juventus that he took a vitamin integrator in the United States over the summer without cross-checking it with their medical staff.
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“An athlete must always be conscious and never negligent of what he is putting into his body. The Pogba issue surprised me, because testosterone is an anabolic that is absolutely banned by the anti-doping rules.
“It can increase muscle development, but it’s surprising because it is also the easiest substance to spot in an anti-doping test. If you were an athlete intentionally trying to break the rules on doping, this is really not the substance you would take.”
If it is a vitamin integrator taken in the United States, then this would be harking back to the spate of nandrolone cases in 2001, when several different positive tests in Serie A were traced to integrators bought online.
As the American rules are rather lax on these integrators, many of them contain substances that are not listed on the label of ingredients.
It prompted an overhaul of the rules in Italy and players have since been extremely careful in checking with their club medical staff before taking any over the counter medication.
There was a doping test last summer for Atalanta defender Jose Luis Palomino, who was eventually cleared of taking a steroid, even if it took four months.
“That was a steroid included in small doses in a skin cream, whereas with Pogba we are talking about testosterone, which is rather more difficult to take by accident,” added Della Frera.
If Pogba did indeed take this integrator without checking it over with the medical staff, Juventus have a very strong case to terminate his contract.
“The club does not run any risks. It is the doping from a single athlete, not the whole team. In Italy there are very harsh controls, often surprise ones not just during the season, but also in pre-season training retreats.
“Juve have no objective responsibility, at least as far as we know.”