Top 6 Longest Bans in Football History As Paul Pogba Faces Lengthy Time Out

Paul Pogba's career took a turn for the worse on September 11 after he was provisionally suspended for an anti-doping offence.

The Juventus midfielder, who has barely gotten his second stint at the club going due to fitness issues, tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone on August 20.

The French star now faces a ban of up to four years if found guilty of the offence. Such bans, though rare in football, have happened in the past.

Sports Brief takes a look at some of the most famous players who were suspended for lengthy periods.

1. Diego Maradona

Arguably the most accomplished name on this list, Maradona is considered one of the most successful footballers ever but he had a brush with authorities on two separate occasions.

He was first handed a 15-month ban in 1991 for substance use before getting a similar time out in 1994 after samples of ephedrine were found in his blood, as reported by The New York Times.

2. Joey Barton

Joey Barton is one player who, more often than not, made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

If he was not serving time in prison, he was stamping an opponent, or like in 2017 when he was given an 18-month ban for betting offences.

As Bleacher Report captured, the former midfielder placed 1,260 bets in contravention of FA rules.

3. Juanito

Juanito had a largely successful career at Real Madrid but gross incidences of indiscipline punctuated his time in the Spanish capital. In 1978, he assaulted a referee and a linesman and got a two-year ban as a consequence.

However, this was nothing compared to the five-year ban he got in 1987 after he stood on Lothar Matthaus' chest and kicked him during the European Cup semi-finals, as reported by the Guardian.

4. Eric Cantona

The late years of the 20th century definitely served some dram in top European leagues. Eric Cantona was in the mix when he lost his cool against Crystal Palace and kicked Matthew Simons in the chest.

The Manchester United star refused to apologise, with FIFA and FA handing him a combined nine-month ban.

5. Rio Ferdinand

Ferdinand will most probably sit in anyone's list of the top five defenders in the Premier League of all time.

Despite this, the Englishman has a blip in his impressive CV that saw him refuse to take a test in 2003. This attracted an eight-month ban but luckily for him, he went on to have a very successful career at Manchester United.

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6. Roberto Rojas

Chilean goalkeeper, Rojas was handed what remains to be the longest ban in the game's history. During a 1989 World Cup qualifier against Brazil, Chile were down by a goal when Rojas went down holding his face.

The first assumption was that a nearby firework from Brazil fans had hit him. Chile declined to continue with the game, terming it unsafe. However, after a video review, it emerged Rojas was not hit by the firework but had, in fact, injured himself with a razor blade hidden within his gloves.

The goalkeeper was banned for life alongside head coach, Orlando Aravena and team doctor, Daniel Rodriguez as reported by GOAL. His ban was eventually lifted in 2001.

Toney among other players with bans

Ivan Toney was the latest banned player, as Sports Brief reported, with the Brentford striker currently serving an eight-month ban after admitting to 232 charges of betting offences.

Ex-Chelsea keeper, Mark Bosnich served a nine-month layoff in 2002 after testing positive for banned substances and Viktoria Plzen defender, David Bystron was banned for two years.