The recent reports that Chelsea's Ukrainian winger could be banned for doping have reminded me of Pogba's drug problem from a year ago. Football is not the only sport where doping is a problem. Other sports also face harsh penalties if they are suspected of using drugs or if they test positive. Some players have even been banned from playing. If they are found to be positive, they could face a four-season ban.

Pogba was banned for four years by Italy's National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) in February for using performance-enhancing hormones, but Pogba won an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on October 4, which reduced his ban to 18 months.

Pogba will therefore return to training in January and will be able to play again in March. That is why Juventus have terminated Pogba's contract. In an interview with the British-based 𝐒𝐤𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬, Pogba said: "That's not me. I'm not a liar. I love my sport. I love the game and I never cheat. I like to win fairly. I'm a loser but I'm not a liar. I took the supplement so I have to take some responsibility. I didn't do the three tests. Even if they say it was from a professional. If I get punished, that's fine. But four years should never happen." Pogba's contract with Juventus runs until 2026, but the club has now terminated his contract, leaving Pogba without a club.

Argentina's World Cup winner, Papu Gomez, was banned for two years in October 2023 for doping. The 36-year-old is currently without a club and is likely to retire from the game. Papu Gomez, 35, joined Monza on a free transfer from Sevilla in the summer of 2023 and has only played two games so far. He tested positive for doping while playing for Sevilla in October 2022. The main reason for the failure to comply was the use of 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞, a medicine used to treat asthma, bronchitis and lung diseases.

"FIFA (World Football Association) has notified the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency (ADA) of the first-ever sanction against Gomez," Monza said in a statement. Gomez was part of Argentina's 2022 World Cup winning squad, starting in the group stage against Saudi Arabia and the round of 16 against Australia. He could be stripped of his World Cup and Europa League titles for failing the doping test. The two-year ban means he will be eligible to play again in October 2025, meaning he could retire from playing.

French Open champion Igarashi Wan-Tak has been suspended for a month after testing positive for a banned substance, and she has accepted the suspension. She did not take the drug intentionally, but accidentally. After reporting the incident to the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), Ignacy Szwantek was given a one-month suspension instead of a major punishment.

The 23-year-old Polish tennis player tested positive for the banned substance amphetamine (TPA) in a drug test in August. However, the IIA admitted that the banned substance was found in a Polish-made medicine that the player had been taking to treat fatigue and sleep problems that are common after flying from one time zone to another.

“Therefore, the violation was not intentional. The player’s level of fault was considered to be at the lower end of the ‘significant fault (error) or negligence’ scale and was considered minor,” the statement said, adding that the five-time Grand Slam champion accepted a one-month suspension. She was provisionally suspended from September 12 to October 4, during which she missed three tournaments. The one-month suspension means she will be allowed to return to competition in early December after accepting the suspension. She also forfeited her prize money from the Cincinnati Open, where she lost to world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.

Chelsea player Mudrac’s urine sample tested positive for a banned substance. According to reports, Mudrac tested positive for the banned substance in his first urine sample (1) in October. If the results of the second urine sample (2) are negative, Mudrac will be cleared of the charges. If he tests positive again in the second sample, Mudrac could face a four-season ban, just like Pogba. Mudrac has not yet been charged with doping. Mudrac himself has denied any wrongdoing. Chelsea have also issued a statement supporting Mudrac.

The banned substances in athletes are generally called ‘performance-enhancing drugs’. They include drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines, steroids used to treat diseases, male hormones, diuretics, heart medications, and blood thinners.

The amphetamine found in Mudrak’s urine sample is a drug used to treat coronary artery disease. Since the 1990s, the world of sports has been strictly tackling the problem of doping, and sometimes athletes have been involved in doping without even knowing it. For example, in the 2004 Athens Olympics in Greece, a Burmese weightlifter finished fourth. When the results came back positive, she was disqualified from the competition for doping. When the problem occurred, he was given a prescription drug before the competition, claiming he was sick. The prescription drug contained a banned steroid.

The doping problem actually started in East Germany. In the Olympics, East Germany used a shortcut to win medals by systematically giving players banned drugs. Then in 2017, there was the Russian Federation’s drug problem, which affected more than 1,000 athletes.

Now, according to initial reports, Mudryk’s drug problem occurred during his trip to Ukraine, so it seems that it was not related to the Chelsea medical team. We will only be able to say the full extent of the problem after waiting for the player’s second test result, so I will end this article by praying that he is completely free from the field.

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