Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been banned from football for four years for a doping offence, the BBC reports.
The former Manchester United player was provisionally suspended in September after a drugs test found elevated levels of testosterone in his system.
France international Pogba, 30, was randomly tested after Juventus’ first match of the season on 20 August.
BBC Sport has been told Pogba will appeal against Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal’s (Nado) decision.
The failed drugs test was confirmed by Nado in a second sample in October, and the anti-doping prosecutor’s office had requested a four-year suspension.
The ruling means Pogba will be unable to play until 2027, when he will be 33, with the ban backdated to the date of the failed test.
It is understood Pogba believes that if he did take a banned substance, he did so inadvertently.
Speaking at the time of the initial suspension, Pogba’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, said: “What is certain is that Paul Pogba never wanted to break a rule.”
Testosterone is a hormone that increases the endurance of athletes.
Nado said Pogba had violated rules when prohibited non-endogenous testosterone metabolites were found in the test, and the results were “consistent with the exogenous origin of the target compounds.”
