Why did Pogba take testosterone?

 

The career of World Cup winner Paul Pogba has been marred by a highly publicized doping scandal, culminating in a ban that threatened to end his elite playing days. At the heart of the issue was a positive test for testosterone, a banned substance in professional sports. However, the question of why Pogba took the substance is critical and forms the core of the ongoing narrative and his subsequent defense.

The Positive Test and Initial Suspension

Paul Pogba, then a midfielder for Juventus, was provisionally suspended in September 2023 after testing positive for non-endogenous testosterone metabolites following a Serie A match against Udinese in August 2023. The positive result was later confirmed by a counter-analysis on his "B" sample. The substance detected was specifically identified asDehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a banned compound that the body can use to naturally raise levels of testosterone.

Pogba's Explanation: The 'Honest Mistake'

Crucially, Pogba has consistently denied knowingly or intentionally taking a banned substance to enhance his performance. The defense presented by the French international focused on an "honest mistake" involving a food supplement.

According to reports and statements from his legal team, the elevated testosterone levels were attributed to a dietary supplement bought in the United States. The following points detail his defense:

• The Supplement: Pogba claimed he took a supplement prescribed by a doctor friend based in the USA.

• Lack of Due Diligence: The defense implied that neither Pogba nor the friend realized the product contained DHEA, a banned substance, or that its use was not permitted under European anti-doping regulations.

• • Club Ignorance: It was reported that neither Juventus nor the club's medical staff were aware of his consumption of this specific supplement. As a professional athlete, all supplements are typically meant to be vetted by the club's medical team to avoid doping violations.

    The Potential Motivation: Injury Recovery

    While Pogba's camp maintains the consumption was unintentional, the context of his tumultuous second spell at Juventus is often cited as a potential underlying factor. The midfielder had been plagued by a series of injuries, including knee and hamstring issues, which severely limited his playing time since his return to the Italian club in 2022.

    Testosterone and its precursors, like DHEA, are anabolic agents. In the sports world, performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) are often used to:

  • Increase muscle mass and strength.

  • Improve endurance.

  • Crucially, accelerate recovery from intense training or, in this case, a prolonged series of injuries.

  While Pogba stated he never intended to cheat, the timing of the consumption, amidst a desperate battle to return to fitness, has led to speculation that he was seeking any advantage possible, albeit through a supplement he believed to be innocuous, to overcome his injury woes.

  The Consequences and Appeal

  Following the positive test, the Italian anti-doping court initially requested and granted a four-year ban, the standard suspension under the World Anti-Doping Code for intentional doping. However, following his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) where experts supported his insistence that the ingestion was unintentional, his suspension was reduced to 18 months. The CAS ruling acknowledged that while he was not without fault for his lack of diligence, the intention to dope for advantage was not proven.

  Paul Pogba did not "take testosterone" directly in a deliberate, clinical sense of a doping regime. Instead, his positive result was due to the presence of DHEA, a testosterone-boosting precursor, which he claimed he consumed unknowingly via an unregulated American food supplement as he desperately sought a way to get back onto the pitch after an injury-riddled period