France manager Didier Deschamps has responded to the four-year ban handed to Paul Pogba for failing a drug test.
Pogba has been suspended since the early weeks of this season and has spent much of the campaign waiting to learn the verdict of his actions.
The Frenchman has now been banned for four years and vows to appeal the decision. However, the initial ban saddens his national team manager, Deschamps, who insists that Pogba would not deliberately take a performance-enhancing drug.
He said, as quoted by Calciomercato:
“I never believed for a second that Paul did it voluntarily, that he had the intention of doping. Knowing him well, I know that this It’s not in his character at all. Now the facts are in and what the two samples taken reveal. The presence of the illicit hormone is indisputable. Given everything he has achieved on the team and the relationships we have built, his situation saddens me and I hope that everything can be sorted out. In any case, I want to believe his version.”
Juve FC Says
Pogba’s ban is a big blow to everyone who loves the midfielder, and Deschamps is not left out.
He was probably hoping the former Manchester United man would be back in action soon and even play for the national team again.
Pogba could have gotten a lighter sentence if he accepted a plea deal, but he could also get that should he succeed on appeal.