SportsNews
Footballer Paul Pogba breaks his silence and admits he is ‘sad, shocked and heartbroken’ after being banned for four years for doping

Published
1 year agoon
By
Ekwutos Blog
French forward, Paul Pogba has broken his silence after receiving a four-year ban for doping.
He tested positive for testosterone after Juventus’ first game of the season and was given his punishment by an anti-doping prosecutor’s office in Italy on Thursday.
Pogba’s lawyers had rejected a plea deal and hoped to get their client a lighter sentence after claiming he had accidentally ingested the substance that caused the positive test, DHEA.
However, the prosecution did not believe Pogba’s defence, and he has now been given a ban that could potentially end his career.
He said: ‘I have today been informed of the Tribunale Nazionale Antidoping’s decision and believe that the verdict is incorrect.
‘I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me.
‘When I am free of legal restrictions the full story will become clear, but I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations.
‘As a professional athlete I would never do anything to enhance my performance by using banned substances and have never disrespected or cheated fellow athletes and supporters of any of the teams I have played for, or against.
‘As a consequence of the decision announced today I will appeal this before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.’
Pogba’s suspension completes a dramatic fall from grace for a player who was once the most expensive footballer in the world.
After coming through United’s academy, Pogba moved to Juventus on a free transfer in 2012 and proceeded to win four straight Serie A titles.
He returned to Old Trafford in 2016 for a world-record fee of £89m.
Pogba won the World Cup with France two years later, scoring in the final against Croatia, but struggled to hit the same heights at club level.
During his six years back in England, Pogba won the Europa League and League Cup with United, but failed to turn them into Premier League title contenders.
He left the 13-time Premier League champions on a free transfer for the second time in 2022 to go back to Juventus as he aimed to resurrect his career.
Pogba started just one game all season after being sidelined with knee, groin and hamstring problems.
He was named on the bench for their opening match of the 2023-24 season, but was an unused substitute in their 3-0 win at Udinese.
Following that match, he returned a test that has led to him receiving a four-year ban.
The substance found in his system was DHEA, which can naturally boost levels of testosterone.
Pogba requested for his B-sample to be tested, but this also came back positive in October, leading to Juventus contemplating terminating his contract.
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Chelsea ‘breach UEFA limits on financial losses’, could be banned from Europe

Published
2 days agoon
April 5, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Chelsea have breached UEFA limits on financial losses, according to the UK Times.
On Monday, the Blues posted a net profit of almost £130 million in their latest accounts published.
This profit was arrived at after they sold their women’s team to their sister company.
A statement on Chelsea’s website however didn’t specify how much the women’s team was sold to BlueCo, the holding company used in Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s takeover three years ago.
It only noted that “profit on disposal of subsidiaries” was £198.7 million .
The move helped Chelsea avoid breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules last season.
But the loophole has been rejected by UEFA and means the Blues have overspent and are now set to be punished.
It is reported that the Blues are now in talks with UEFA over a financial penalty and having to follow a spending plan for the next three seasons.
SportsNews
Digvesh Rathi credits Sunil Narine as inspiration after match-winning spell

Published
2 days agoon
April 5, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 5 (ANI): Young spinner Digvesh Singh Rathicontinued his impressive rise in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), delivering a composed and effective spell in Lucknow Super Giants‘ (LSG) 12-run victory over Mumbai Indians(MI). His figures of 1/21 in this high-scoring encounter earned him the Player of the Match award.
After the match, Rathi expressed his joy and revealed the inspiration behind his bowling mindset.
“I’m really enjoying it. I like to get batters out. I watched Sunil Narine bowl and from that time I took to bowling,” said Rathi.
“I want to make my mindset more attacking, want to be like Narine, on how he stays calm even during pressure situations,” he added.
Rathi’s only wicket came at a crucial time — the dismissal of the dangerous Naman Dhir, who had looked threatening with a quickfire 46 off 24 balls, including four boundaries and three sixes.
“Before that over, I spoke to you (Pant), we wanted a mid-wicket but we did not have one, he looked to play through there and that move really worked for us,” Rathi revealed.
The win was LSG’s second in the tournament, while MI slumped to their third defeat in four matches. With youngsters like Rathi stepping up and showing maturity, Lucknow will be optimistic about building momentum as the season progresses.
Coming to the match, the Lucknow Super Giantsbowlers’ exceptional performance restricted the five-time champions Mumbai Indians to 191 as the hosts registered a 12-run win at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
Chasing a mammoth total of 203 runs, the Mumbai side didn’t have a good start as they lost the first two wickets in the first 10 balls of the second innings. First, Will Jacks (5 runs off 7 balls) was sent back to the pavilion when the team score was 11 and then Ryan Rickleton (10 runs from 5 balls) was sent back when the team score was 17.
Suryakumar Yadav (67 runs in 43 balls) and Naman Dhir (46 runs off 24 balls) were the highest scorers for the Mumbai-based franchise during the chase.
Team skipper Hardik Pandya (28 runs from 16 balls) and left-hand batter Tilak Varma (25 runs in 23 balls) scored some crucial runs for their side, but it was not enough as the side lost the game by 12 runs.In the 19th over, Tilak was retired out after playing the innings of 25 runs which came with the help of two fours when the team needed 24 runs off seven balls.
The last over was bowled by right-arm seamer Avesh Khan where the Hardik Pandya-led side needed 22 runs. Avesh conceded only nine runs off his 6 balls, despite conceding a maximum on the first ball of the 20th over.
For the Rishabh Pant-led side, one wicket each was grabbed by Shardul Thakur (1/40), Akash Deep (1/46), Avesh Khan (1/40), and Digvesh Rathi (1/21) in their respective spell of four overs.
Earlier, Pandya won the toss and elected to field, but MI’s bowlers were put under pressure early on as Marsh and Markram gave LSG an explosive start. The opening pair reached the 50-run mark in 5.1 overs and raced to 69 by the end of the powerplay.
SportsNews
Transfer: I’m yet to decide my future – Osimhen

Published
3 days agoon
April 4, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Victor Osimhen has declared that he is yet to make a decision on his future, Ekwutosblog reports.
Osimhen joined Turkish Super Lig champions Galatasaray on loan from Napoli last September.
The Yellow and Reds are desperate to sign the Nigeria international on a permanent transfer.
The 26-year-old has also been linked with a move to Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Osimhen stated that he is yet to make a decision on where he will play his football next season.
“I haven’t decided about my future yet. Right now, my only focus is Galatasaray’s championship. I will make this team a champion,” the forward was quoted by Web Aslan.
Osimhen racked 27 goals and seven assists in 32 league appearances for Galatasaray this season.

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