From Maradona to Pogba – 5 Footballers Who Have Been Banned for Doping

On Thursday, the Italian anti-doping tribunal handed a four-year ban to French footballer Paul Pogba after he tested positive for testosterone in August of 2023.

The 30-year-old player was found positive for COVID-19 after Juventus’ Serie A opening-day match against Udinese on August 20, in which he did not play as a substitute. As a result, he received a provisional suspension in September 2023 and has been inactive from his team – Juventus ever since.

Pogba’s ineligibility to play will last until the 2027-28 season due to the imposed ban, which means he won’t be able to step on the field again until he reaches 34 years of age.

FRESHREPORTERS NEWS, Pogba has denied any wrongdoing and declared his innocence regarding the use of a prohibited substance just hours after receiving a football ban for the alleged offense.

Discover the list of other elite football players who have received penalties due to doping violations:

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• Diego Armando Marodana. 

In March 1991, the Italian League’s disciplinary committee imposed a football ban of 15 months on Diego Maradona for consuming cocaine before an SC Napoli versus Bari league match. This punishment was subsequently ratified by FIFA and applied worldwide.

Although Maradona is widely regarded as the greatest football player, his career was marred by off-field controversies and doping scandals leading to a ban in 1991. He was later arrested for cocaine possession and trafficking after that.

When ephedrine was found in his urine sample during the 1994 World Cup, he faced a doping investigation that resulted in his expulsion and subsequent suspension for 15 months.

In 1997, Maradona declared his retirement after leading Boca Juniors to a win in their season opener when he received his third positive drug test.

Maradona peacefully passed away in his sleep at the age of 60 due to a cardiac arrest on November 25, 2020. His residence was located in Dique Luján, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

• Andre Onana

In 2021, Andre Onana, the Manchester United goalkeeper, was issued a one-year ban by UEFA – Europe’s football governing body – due to testing positive for a prohibited substance.

Onana claimed that the banned diuretic furosemide was found in his urine because he accidentally took his wife’s medication when he wasn’t feeling well.

Following an appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the suspension to nine months and reiterated that Andre Onana was not mostly responsible for unintentionally taking medicine intended for another individual.

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• Samir Nasri

Samir Nasri, the ex-France football player, was prohibited in 2018 for a duration of one-and-a-half years due to his intravenous drip therapy received at a Los Angeles medical center back in 2016. The ban’s initiation date goes way back till July ’17 and he can again participate in football from January’19.

Nasri confessed that he had no knowledge about the regulations and said that he went to the clinic for treatment because of his illness as well as getting ready for the imminent football season.

• Kolo Toure

In May 2011, Kolo Toure – a former Ivorian footballer who played for Manchester City at the time – confessed to consuming his wife’s dietary pill and consequently underwent a six-month suspension for doping.

Following a hearing by the Football Association’s independent regulatory commission at Wembley, Toure was subjected to two years of target-testing. The verdict concluded that he did not have any intention of improving his sporting performance, leading to a rescheduling of his ban till March.

• Andrian Mutu 

Andrian Mutu, a former Chelsea striker, is notable for being banned twice due to doping. His initial ban happened in 2004 when he was transferring from Barcelona to England and admitted taking prohibited substances; this led to his seven-month suspension. The incident also caused him off-field difficulties and ultimately resulted in the club’s termination of his contract on October 2004.

During his stint with Fiorentina in 2010, the Romanian player faced a suspension of nine months from Coni’s anti-doping tribunal for not clearing two drug tests. He was found guilty after testing positive for sibutramine – an illegal stimulant that he had consumed before matches against Bari and Lazio. Interestingly, it was his mother Rodica Mutu who took responsibility for her son’s doping violation…[CONTINUE READING HERE]>>