TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus does not seem overly enthusiastic about welcoming back Paul Pogba.
Pogba had his four-year ban for doping reduced to 18 months on Friday after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, meaning the France World Cup winner will be free to resume his career in March 2025.
Pogba, who tested positive for testosterone in August last year, said he “just cannot wait to get back on the pitch.”
His club, Juventus, does not appear to feel the same.
“We’re waiting for the sentence documents, then we’ll make a decision,” sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli said before Saturday’s Serie A match against Cagliari.
“He was a great player but he’s been out of action for a long time.”
Giuntoli’s comments echoed those of coach Thiago Motta in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
“The club will decide what to do about Pogba,” Motta said. “For me, he was a great player, he hasn’t played for a long time. Now I’m focused only on tomorrow’s match, everything else matters little to me at the moment.”
The 31-year-old Pogba was the most expensive soccer player in history when he joined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of 105 million euros ($113 million) in 2016.
He starred in France’s World Cup triumph in 2018 and returned to Juventus as a free agent in 2022. But injuries limited him to just eight Serie A appearances in his second spell at the club before his ban.
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Juventus not enthusiastic on welcoming back Paul Pogba after doping ban reduced
French professional soccer player Paul Pogba stands in a VIP suite at the start of an MLS soccer match between Inter Miami and Charlotte FC, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Juventus not enthusiastic on welcoming back Paul Pogba after doping ban reduced
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The parents of a 14-year-old Missouri boy who fell to his death from an Orlando amusement park ride in 2022 have won a $310 million verdict against the attraction's Austrian builder.
Late Thursday, the Orange County jury ordered that the manufacturer Funtime pay $155 million each to Tyre Sampson's parents, Nekia Dodd and Yarnell Sampson. He died on March 24, 2022, after falling 70 feet (21 meters) from the Orlando Free Fall ride at Icon Park. The trial lasted only a day as Funtime never appeared in court to defend itself.
Icon Park, which rented the ride's space to Orlando Slingshot, the ride's owner and operator, had already settled with Sampson's family for an undisclosed amount.
“The jury’s decision confirms what we have long argued: Tyre’s death was the result of blatant negligence and a failure to prioritize safety over profits,” the family's lawyers, Ben Crump and Natalie Jackson, said in a statement. “The ride’s manufacturers neglected their duty to protect passengers, and (Thursday's) outcome ensures they face the consequences."
The family will now have to seek an order from an Austrian court to collect the damages.
Funtime did not respond to an email sent to its headquarters Friday seeking comment. The company's website shows that it manufactures thrill rides that throw, drop and spin passengers at high speeds and from tall elevations, including attractions named Vomatron, Sling Shot and Chaos Pendle.
Sampson, a football standout who stood 6 foot, 2 inches tall (1.9 meters) and weighed 380 pounds (172 kilograms), was visiting Orlando on spring break from the St. Louis area when he went with friends to the downtown amusement park.
They rode the Orlando Free Fall, which placed 30 riders in seats attached to a tower, secured them with a shoulder harness and then dropped them 430 feet (131 meters). It didn't have seat belts, something most drop rides have as an additional safety measure.
Because of Sampson's size, the harness didn't lock properly and he was ejected from his seat when the ride braked 70 feet from the ground.
His parents argued that Orlando Slingshot and Funtime should have warned their son about the risks of someone his size going on the ride and didn’t provide an appropriate restraint system. Adding seat belts would have cost $660.
The state ordered the ride closed after the accident and it never reopened. It is now being demolished.
This version corrects that the ride is owned by Slingshot Group, not Icon Park.
Nekia Dodd, mother of Tyre Sampson, wipes away tears while talking to the media at the site of the former Orlando Freefall ride at ICON Park, Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in Orlando, Fla. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)
FILE - The Orlando Free Fall drop tower in ICON Park in Orlando is pictured on Monday, March 28, 2022. T (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)
