Paul Pogba tested positive for testosterone during a doping test on August 20, following the match between his team, Juventus Turin, and Udine (Italy). The French international has been provisionally suspended, the Italian anti-doping agency (Nado) announced on Monday September 11.
Testosterone is a steroid hormone secreted naturally by the sexual organs in humans, particularly during adolescence, when boys produce testosterone in higher quantities than girls to develop male physical markers – notably muscle mass or hairiness. It plays a key role in the development and functioning of male sexuality and fertility.
The molecule is also used in a therapeutic context to treat serious pathologies, in particular the treatment of certain cancers. It can also be administered to combat depression and sleep disorders, as well as to promote sexual desire.
But, in sport, testosterone is considered a doping product. As such, it appears on the list of prohibited products published by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which classifies the substance in the category of anabolic androgenic steroids. The French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) determined, in its 2022 activity report, that anabolic agents remain, despite the increasing sophistication of doping methods, the substances most often detected during controls (31% cases). It is “one of the products most used by athletes who take drugs,” confirms Michel Audran, former director of the French anti-doping laboratory.
Administered artificially (by injection, orally in tablet form, by a patch or gel applied directly to the skin), testosterone helps improve sports performance. It is mainly used to increase muscular power – steroids, substances popular in strength tests such as weightlifting, are however more “efficient” – and it increases resistance to physical effort tenfold. The hormone also acts as a psychostimulant on the athlete’s concentration and motivation.
Among the cases of testosterone doping in the history of sport, we can cite the institutionalized system among athletes in the former East Germany. Or the American Floyd Landis, who tested positive after his victory during the 2006 Tour de France. His compatriot Justin Gatlin, a 100-meter specialist, was suspended from 2006 to 2010, before making a controversial return to the slopes.
More recently, Richard Freeman, former doctor of the Sky cycling team, was suspended in August for the same period, notably for possession of testosterone. In his defense, he claimed that the batches of hormone were intended for the sports director of the British team to treat erection problems, which he firmly denied.
The French international has been provisionally suspended. If the second opinion of his B sample confirms the presence of testosterone in his body, Paul Pogba risks four years of suspension, the sanction provided for by the world anti-doping code. Laboratory analyzes now make it easy to determine whether the quantity of testosterone detected in the Turin environment is of endogenous origin (natural production) or exogenous, and therefore results from taking a doping product.
However, if Paul Pogba manages to prove the non-intentionality of doping, the suspension he faces can be reduced to two years. Even three months if he can establish that the absorption or use of the substance took place “outside competition and is not linked to his level of performance”, specifies the Italian Anti-Doping Agency. The analysis of a hair of the player should establish whether it is an intensive or exceptional consumption of testosterone, which he could, in the latter case, have ingested via a product improving sexual performance or in supplements. food.
The AFLD warns, in its 2022 activity report, of the dangers represented by the ingestion of food supplements, over the counter, particularly on the Internet, and whose compositions are very often only partially detailed.