Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been given a temporary suspension after testing positive for testosterone.

After Juve’s 3-0 victory over Udinese on August 20, the World Cup winner’s drug test revealed an unfavourable result.

Pogba was listed as a substitute for the match, but he did not play.

He entered as a second-half substitute in Juve’s 1-1 draw with Bologna at home on August 27 and 2-0 victory against Empoli away on September 3.

He has since been sidelined with a back injury, according to Massimiliano Allegri, the head coach of Juventus.

The former midfielder for Manchester United will be suspended out of caution and given three days to submit a “B” sample request.

Unless he admits to taking the prohibited substance, Pogba will have to appear before the National Anti-Doping Tribunal in Italy for a hearing if the positive test is verified.

Pogba faces a maximum two-year punishment if found guilty, but a four-year suspension is possible if it can be shown that he took the drug on purpose.

After his contract with United expired in July of last year, Pogba returned to Juventus on a free transfer.

The 30-year-old, who joined United for £89 million in 2016, was sidelined for a large part of last season and was forced to miss the World Cup after requiring knee surgery.

Pogba ended up making his second debut for Juve at the end of February but was then dropped from the squad the following week due to disciplinary reasons after turning up late for a team dinner.

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Paul Pogba, who has put his injury ordeal behind him, has declared his desire to assist Juventus in winning trophies.

At the Allianz Stadium on Sunday, Pogba made his first appearance of the 2023–24 season as a substitute as Bologna held Juventus to a 1–1 draw. After missing most of the previous season due to injury, the Frenchman is now motivated to regain his pre-injury form so he can support the Italian powerhouses in bringing home some hardware.

Speaking to DAZN, Pogba said after the game: “True Pogba? Only playing minutes are missing. I’m fine physically and I want to get back on top. How much does Paul want from Juventus? I’m hungry, like in my early days here. I’m only thirty. I want to give these fans trophies and the desire to come here to the stadium.”

Since joining the Bianconeri as a free agent in 2022 after leaving Manchester United, the France international has only participated in 11 games.

A severe knee injury caused him to have surgery and kept him out of play for a lengthy time. This year’s team’s full preseason in the United States was missed by him.

Juventus will play Empoli in a Serie A match on September 3; Pogba will hope to be given a start by head coach Massimiliano Allegri after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Bologna on Sunday.

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Despite his criticism of the 10-point penalty given to Juventus, Massimiliano Allegri has pledged to continue as manager.

After receiving punishment for alleged “financial irregularities,” the Bianconeri now seem set to finish outside of the top four in Serie A, missing out on Champions League participation in the process.

Juve, who had earlier appealed against a 15-point punishment, learned of their destiny just before the start of Monday’s game against Empoli, which they would ultimately lose 4-1. Allegri lashed out at the Turin authorities for how they handled the sad situation.

Allegri told DAZN when asked about the punishment and whether it could impact his future at the Allianz Stadium: “We need to talk to the club and see where we are playing. I don’t know if they will even allow us to play in the Europa League, we’ll have to wait and see. Obviously, if you are out of all competition, you have to make one plan. We cannot say that Juventus will immediately get back to winning next season, but the important thing is to all be aligned during difficulties.

“It would be cowardly for me to abandon Juventus at this moment. I am disappointed tonight because it was an opportunity, but I also cannot reproach the team for anything, because it has been a continual chasing down of situations. I want to point out one thing: Juventus are second in the table, we earned that on the field. We accept everything, but I really hope this just gets sorted out once and for all. It’s a steady drip, drip, drip, let them just decide where they want Juventus to be, tell us and resolve the problem. It is a lack of respect towards people who are working, players and coaches. I am not telling them what to decide, I just ask them to decide once and for all. It’s incredible. Just incredible. Enough is enough.”

Juve now sits seventh in Serie A, outside of the slots needed to qualify for Europe, but Allegri wants to see the team stand up again and respond positively to those who have been trying to bring them down. He added: “Juventus have always got back on our feet, we need to be clear-headed. Now we can only hope that we can begin the next season knowing what the situation is.

I don’t know how we reached this point, because I might seem impervious to everything, but it has been just torture. I wish they’d have just told us two months ago what the penalty was and let us know if we were going to be stabbed or poisoned, because at least we’d know.”

Juventus still has two matches to play in the current season, against AC Milan and Udinese, and will probably need to change their preparations for the summer transfer window as they prepare for the possibility that they won’t be playing any continental football in 2023–24.

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Juventus manager, Massimiliano Allegri, praised Paul Pogba for his outstanding cameo against Sevilla in the Europa League semifinal.

Pogba assisted Federico Gatti to a crucial equalizer in the 97th minute of the game on Thursday night at the Allianz Stadium, ensuring that the Bianconeri will go to Spain for the second leg of the Europa League semi-final next week on even terms.

The French midfielder came on in the 70th minute to replace Angel di Maria, and he took advantage of the situation by using a variety of passing techniques to help his team win the match.

Allegri was thrilled to see Pogba make an essential move but was informed that the World Cup champion from last year is not yet ready to start a game.

 “When games are in the opposition half, he is in an extraordinary player. If he was in optimal condition, of course I would have him in the starting XI every game. He gave a very important contribution this evening,” the manager stated.

Juventus was behind the game following Youssef En-Nesyri’s goal in the 26th minute, but Allegri believed his team had done enough to earn a draw.

“Up until the goal, my team had moved the ball well, but when we got up there, it all seemed too easy and we made far too many mistakes,” he continued.

“On the counter-attack, we were caught out because we didn’t track back and left gaps, also risking a second in similar circumstances. The lads did well to fight back and get a deserved draw that leaves everything to play for in the second leg.”

Prior to travelling to Sevilla for the second leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday, Juventus must take care of a Serie A match against Cremonese on Sunday.

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Former Juventus manager, Andrea Pirlo says he does not think Carlo Ancelotti is better than Antonio Conte and that the Real Madrid manager cannot be ranked above the former Tottenham boss and two others.

The 43-year-old worked with Carlo at AC Milan, but he doesn’t think the four-time Champions League winner is the best coach in his country; instead, he thinks three other coaches are better.

Pirlo, who is currently working as Fatih Karagumruk’s coach in Turkey, was chatting with La Gazzetta dello Sport about the best Italian manager.

He acknowledged that Ancelotti had the most trophies but said Antonio Conte, Marcello Lippi, and Massimiliano Allegri—all of whom he played under during his playing days—are better Italian managers.

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Pirlo: “Number one? Due to his human and technical qualities, Ancelotti has won more victories than anyone else and in all the championships, but how can you put him ahead of Lippi, Conte, or Allegri? They are different. Good game or not: who wins rules,” per Marca.

The 2006 World Cup champion gushed over Guardiola, calling the Spanish manager “special” and “an innovator.”

“Pep is unique, he always loves to innovate,” he said.

“However, football is becoming more and more physical, and you have to keep up to date with everything. Perhaps even for the lesser-known.”

Meanwhile, Antonio Conte, who Pirlo rates so highly, has been fired by Spurs after an explosive interview.

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Massimiliano Allegri confronted a fan after hearing jeers aimed at Moise Keane and Mattia De Sciglio in Juventus‘ Serie A match against Fiorentina.

Adrien Rabiot’s 34th-minute strike gave Juventus a hard-fought Serie A victory over Fiorentina on Sunday. Allegri was spotted approaching a fan who had been booing Kean and De Sciglio at the finish of the game.

The Italian coach was heard screaming: “Shut up and come down here and say that.”

Speaking to reporters after the game, Allegri addressed the incident and said: “I am disappointed because most of the crowd is helping the team, then there are a few who decide a player is poor regardless of performance and jeers, like Moise Kean, De Sciglio and at times [Leandro] Paredes too. They are Juventus players, we need all of them. I don’t like people coming to the stadium ready to jeer at one or another player, that is disrespectful. By all means jeer when we do badly, but not ahead of time.”

“Shut up and come down here” #Allegri to a fan postmatch shouting at the players (DAZN)

pic.twitter.com/l5dcza9ped

— 🎥 The AJC 🏳️🏴 (@The_AJC_) February 12, 2023

In January, Juventus suffered a major setback when they were found guilty of a number of financial violations by the Italian Football Federation and saw 15 points deducted from their tally.

After beating Fiorentina, they have 29 points after 22 games, placing them ninth in the Serie A standings.

On Thursday, Allegri’s team plays Nantes in a Europa League match.

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Massimiliano Allegri has revealed Juventus‘ top priority, stating that they need to avoid relegation following their Serie A point deduction.

The Bianconeri are going through a hard patch right now, and in their most recent league game, they were defeated at home by newly promoted Monza 2-0. They have actually dropped two of their past three games and are currently sitting in 13th place in the Serie A standings with just 23 points after 20 games.

Juventus had been pursuing a top-four finish until being docked 15 points for fraudulent accounting, and they are currently just 10 points clear of the drop zone. Given the present situation, Allegri stated that their first goal is to earn 40 points in order to escape relegation to the second level.

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“The fact is that we have 23 points. We have to reach 40 points which avoids relegation, it makes me laugh, but that’s how it is. The first objective is to catch those ahead of us,” he told reporters.

“To give ourselves goals now is unthinkable. Now we have to reach the team ahead of us and climb slowly. Tomorrow, we have to win because in the last three league games we’ve only scored one point.”

Allegri went on to confirm that Paul Pogba is not yet ready to return from injury while also sharing updates on Leandro Bonucci and Leandro Paredes. “Apart from Bonucci who has had the flu for three days, Pogba the usual, Paredes has leg discomfort and won’t be there. The others will all be present,” he added.

The Old Lady will look to get back to winning ways when they face Salernitana away from home on Tuesday in Serie A.

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