Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban

Paul Pogba prays before a past match.[AFP]

France coach Didier Deschamps on Monday welcomed the news that there was light at the end of the tunnel for midfielder Paul Pogba after a doping ban.

On Friday, French international Pogba learned that his four-year ban for doping had been reduced to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"There is this light that turns on again," said Deschamps on the French Football Federation (FFF) website.

"He will have stages to go through but it is excellent news. He will be able to play again from March."

The 91-times capped World Cup winner tested positive for testosterone in August 2023 after a match between Juventus and Udinese in Italy.

Pogba blamed a food supplement prescribed by a doctor he consulted in the United States for the positive test.

He was provisionally suspended in September of the same year, and then banned for four years by the Italian National Anti-Doping Tribunal the following February.

The 31-year-old can now hope to return to the French team in 2025.

"I spoke to him for quite a long time on the phone as this whole period has been very complicated for him," said Deschamps, also referring to "the injuries, plus the private problems he had (a case of blackmail against him notably involving one of his brothers), plus this suspension".

"It still remains a sanction which is heavy, less heavy," added Deschamps, but Pogba "knows that in March 2025, he will become a player again and as he loves football and playing so much, it is excellent news for him".