Weekly Football News Catch Up: September 11th: Paul Pogba Faces 4 Years Ban; United And Brasil Drops Antony; Nigerian Wins 6-0 As Osimhen Bags Hatrick; Others

Pogba Faces Possible 4-Year Ban After Testing Positive To Drug

Juventus player Paul Pogba faces a four-year suspension after testing positive for testosterone.

Pogba joined Juventus from Manchester United in July 2022.

However, the move has not gone as anticipated as he has also been plagued by injuries.

In the most recent development, Pogba is said to have tested positive following a league match against Udinese on August 20, a game he did not play in.

Pogba has now been suspended on an initial cautious basis by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal and has three days to request a B sample.

In such circumstances, the maximum punishment is four years, which includes a two-year ban that can be doubled if it is established that the substance was taken on purpose.

The most recent such instance in Serie A included Atalanta’s Jose Luis Palomino, who was banned and subsequently cleared after missing four months after a positive test for the steroid clostebol was reversed by the B sample.

Sancho Releases Statement after Ten Hag Makes Comments

Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho has issued a statement distancing himself from statements made by Erik ten Hag that he was not performing at an acceptable level during training, which resulted in his absence from the squad.

Sancho was not among the United players who travelled to London to face Arsenal at the Emirates.

Ten Hag was questioned by reporters after the 3-1 loss on why Sancho did not play.

The manager of Manchester United revealed that the Englishman did not apply himself adequately during training, thus the decision was made to leave him out.

Ten Hag said that he purposefully left Sancho at home.

The Manchester United star replied in a statement.

The 23-year-old’s statement read, “Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people to say completely untrue things. I have conducted myself in training very well this week.”

“I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t get into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!”

Sancho added, “All I want to do is to play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team.

“I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and am grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to play for this badge no matter what!”

Sancho will be among the players who will remain at Carrington working under Ten Hag because he was not called up by Gareth Southgate for England national team duty during the forthcoming international break.

At this moment, the nature of the disagreement between the player and his manager is unknown.

Antony Dropped Out Of Brazil And Manchester United Squad

Antony, a Manchester United forward, has been left out of Brazil’s World Cup qualifying roster.

This follows the publication by UOL in his own country of new claims made by his ex-girlfriend, Gabriela Cavallin.

Read Also: Ex-Partner Of Manchester United Player Asks For His Suspension

Antony issued a statement in June, claiming that Ms Cavallin had wrongly accused him of domestic violence.

As a result of the development, Brazil has decided to replace Antony with Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus.

Manchester United has also decided to give Antony a break to resolve his issue.

Osimhen Bags Hattrick As Nigeria Wins 6-0 Against Sao Tome

Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has eclipsed former Super Eagles attackers Obafemi Martins and Ikechukwu Uche in Nigeria’s goalscoring chart after scoring a hat-trick against Sao Tome and Principe in Uyo on Sunday, September 10.

Victor Osimhen tied Obafemi Martins’ 18 goals for Nigeria with his first-half strike and then equalled Ikechukwu Uche’s 19 goals with a penalty in the second half.

The final result was 6-0.

Osimhen scored the game’s first goal in the 14th minute, and Ademola Lookman’s strike made it 2-0 at the half.

Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi scored immediately after the restart with an acrobatic kick to make it three, and Nigeria then unleashed the floodgates.

Following some great interchangeable play, Osimhen won and converted a penalty, and then substitute Samuel Chukwueze assisted on Osimhen’s hat-trick.

Chukwueze sealed the victory with a goal in the final minutes, assisted by Victor Boniface.

Nigeria won the group with 15 points thanks to the victory.

Osimhen has surpassed former Liberia striker George Weah as the African with the most goals in the history of the Italian League top division.

Victor Osimhen won the Serie A top-scorer award last season after assisting Napoli to earn its first league title in 33 years.

Osimhen has already scored 20 goals for the senior national team, closing in on Yakubu Aiyegbeni.