The Frenchman could be heard as early as next week, therefore, if the Prosecutor deems it necessary, the referral will proceed. The player will have 20 days to decide whether or not to admit guilt. If he doesn’t do it he will go to trial
– Rome
Now that the counter-analysis has confirmed Paul Pogba’s positivity to testosterone, when will we know the extent of the (probable, but obviously not certain) disqualification of the Frenchman from Juventus? The timing changes based on the defensive choices of the player, who remains suspended as a precaution.
convocation
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What is certain is that Pogba will shortly receive a notification from the National Anti-Doping Prosecutor’s Office (PNA) (also sent to the International Federation and Wada) announcing that he has initiated disciplinary action. Every member – as stated in the art. 4.4 of the Nado Italia results management procedure code – is required to collaborate and, if requested, to appear before the PNA and “for the investigations ordered by the latter”. It is therefore practically certain that Pogba will be heard, assisted by his own defender and a staff of experts. And the interrogation should probably take place next week.
the referral
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If, after examining the defense arguments provided, the PNA believes that Pogba has committed one or more violations of the anti-doping sports regulations, it will notify him in writing of “the violation or violations alleged to have been committed” – or the referral – also indicating “the specific sanctions that are intended to be imposed in the event of ascertainment of the alleged violation” (art. 5.1). From that moment the Frenchman will have 20 days to decide whether to admit the violation and accept the proposed sanctions or not.
sentence reductions
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But there is also the “discounts” issue: based on art. 7.1, “after the referral order and, in any case, before the hearing before the TNA, the Athlete has the right to admit the disputed violation, renounce the hearing and agree with the PNA on the sanctions deriving from the violation committed” (clear however that the Prosecutor’s Office can only propose based on the jurisprudence of the Tas or the guidelines of the Wada). It is the formula that comes closest to the so-called plea bargaining: the agreement must in any case be ratified by Nado Italia. If the proposed sanction is equal to or greater than 4 years – in Pogba’s case the expected sentence is exactly 4 years – and within the famous 20 days from the referral the player admits the violation, he obtains the automatic reduction of one year. Within a dialogue with the Prosecutor’s Office itself, the player could also try to demonstrate the “non-intentionality” of taking the prohibited substance, which if proven would lead to the halving of the sentence. But there is also a deeper and more detailed form of admission (non-producible confidential agreement) which could lead to an (even further) reduction of the sanction. In all these cases, as mentioned, there is no trial and the extent of the disqualification could be known in just over a month (it also depends on the need for further investigations by the Prosecutor’s Office).
in front of the tna
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Without admission Pogba will instead go before the National Anti-Doping Tribunal (TNA), which – once the 20 days available to play have expired – will set the hearing within 40 days (but it is probable that given the importance of the case in question he will not wait the whole estimated time). Before the date of the hearing, within ten days, the Frenchman’s lawyers will be able to present new defense briefs. In this case the times would obviously be longer, around a couple of months.
single hearing
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The same time, perhaps a little more, would be necessary in the case of a single hearing at the CAS, therefore without a preliminary hearing, provided for by the art. 12 of the Code: this procedure, requested by the athlete, must however be approved first by Nado Italia and then by Wada.
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