In another doping issue, he was sent home from the 1994 World Cup in the USA after doping tests found ephedrine in his urine sample.

By Ayobami Okerinde

France star Paul Pogba was handed a four-year ban on Thursday by the Italian anti-doping tribunal after testing positive for testosterone in August 2023.

The 30-year-old was provisionally suspended in September 2023 and has since not played football for his side, Juventus. 

Pogba tested positive following Junentus’ Serie A opening-day fixture against Udinese on August 20, during which he was an unused substitute.

With the ban, Pogba will be unable to play until the 2027–28 season, when he will be 34.

Here are other top football stars who have been banned for doping.

Diego Maradona

The disciplinary committee of the Italian League banned Diego Maradona from football for 15 months in March 1991 for using cocaine before a league game for SC Napoli against Bari. His ban was extended worldwide after a hearing by football’s governing body, FIFA.

Maradona, arguably considered football’s greatest player of all time, had a career marked by off-field controversy and doping scandals. After his ban in 1991, he was arrested in Buenos Aires for cocaine possession and trafficking.

In another doping issue, he was sent home from the 1994 World Cup in the USA after doping tests found ephedrine in his urine sample. He was again suspended for 15 months.

Maradona’s third positive drug test, following a season-opening victory by his Boca Juniors team in 1997, prompted his retirement.

On November 25, 2020, at the age of 60, Maradona suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away in his sleep at his home in Dique Luján, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

Andre Onana

In 2021, UEFA, Europe’s football governing body, banned Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana for one year for doping after he tested positive for a banned substance.

Onana claimed he “mistakenly” took his wife’s medicine after feeling unwell, which led to the banned diuretic furosemide appearing in his urine.

Following an appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the ban to nine months, stating, “In coming to its decision, the CAS Panel also found that no ‘significant fault’ could be attributed to Andre Onana, who had ingested medication destined for another person in error.”

Andrian Mutu

Former Chelsea forward Andrian Mutu is one of the footballers to have been banned for doping twice.

In 2004, after his move from Barcelona to England, Mutu was suspended for seven months following his admittance to taking a banned substance. He was sacked by the club in October 2004, after his doping and off-field issues.

In 2010, while playing for Fiorentina, the Romanian was handed a nine-month ban by the Italian Olympic Committee’s (Coni) anti-doping tribunal for failing two drug tests.

He twice tested positive for the banned stimulant sibutramine following matches against Bari and Lazio. His mother, Rodica Mutu, admitted she was at fault for his doping ban.

Samir Nasri

Former France star Samir Nasri was banned for 18 months in 2018 over the intravenous drip treatment he received at a Los Angeles clinic in 2016.

His 18-month ban for doping was backdated to July 2017, which saw him return to football action in January 2019.

Nasri admitted he didn’t know about the rules, stating he was ill and only visited the clinic to get ready for the new football season.

Kolo Toure

While playing for Manchester City in May 2011, Kolo Toure was suspended for six months for doping.

The former Ivorian star admitted to taking his wife’s diet pill.

Toure was also target-tested for two years, following an independent regulatory commission hearing convened at Wembley by the Football Association.

However, the commission ruled that Toure did not intend to enhance sporting performance, and his ban was backed to March.