The Football Association (FA) has disqualified Ukraine national team and London Chelsea midfielder Mykhailo Mudryk for 4 years for violating anti-doping rules. This was reported by UNN with reference to talkSPORT journalist Ben Jacobs and The Athletic.
The Football Association imposed a four-year ban on Mykhailo Mudryk after a prohibited substance was detected in his system in 2024. The Chelsea star has already filed an appeal against this decision, which has been referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
The disqualification of the Ukrainian international will be backdated and will include a provisional suspension, which will keep him out of the game until 2028, although the exact date of his return is not yet known.
Currently, the parties (Mudryk and CAS - ed.) are exchanging written statements, and a hearing has not yet been scheduled. Subsequently, sources told us at talkSPORT that the disqualification period is four years, and Mudryk, using the services of the same lawyers as Paul Pogba, hopes to either achieve an acquittal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport or, in the worst-case scenario, secure a reduction in the disqualification period
Addendum
In January 2023, Mykhailo Mudryk moved from Shakhtar Donetsk to London's Chelsea. The "Miners" received 70 million euros for the player and could also receive another 30 million euros in the form of bonuses.
Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Serhiy Palkin stated in an interview with ESPN that Shakhtar risks losing a significant amount in bonus payments.
"There are 30 million euros in bonuses in his contract. And if he doesn't play, if Chelsea doesn't achieve results, we will lose 30 million euros. This is a big financial blow for us. Therefore, everyone believes that this story will end as soon as possible with positive results, and Mudryk will return to the game. Otherwise, we will be in a position where we lose 30 million euros. I know Mudryk as a player and a person. I believe he will return and start playing. I know this because I have never met such a guy in my life. He is very hardworking. And he will prove that he is capable of playing and bringing results to the team. But, as I understand it, at the moment everyone is waiting for the court's decision, and we have no information about when this will happen and when the final decision will be made. Therefore, everyone is waiting for information"
The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne confirmed receipt of the appeal from Mykhailo Mudryk against the decision of the English Football Association.
CAS confirms that it received an appeal from Mykhailo Mudryk against the FA, filed on February 25, 2026. The parties are currently exchanging written submissions, and a hearing has not yet been scheduled
In 2024, the Ukrainian midfielder of the English football club Chelsea, Mykhailo Mudryk, failed a doping test.
Subsequently, Chelsea confirmed the positive doping test of Ukrainian midfielder Mykhailo Mudryk. In turn, the footballer himself stated that he did not knowingly consume any prohibited substances.
The Football Association (FA) charged Ukrainian Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk with violating anti-doping rules.
In June last year, Mudryk received a positive result from a "B" doping sample.
During his suspension from football, Mudryk spends time, in particular, on computer games, including Counter-Strike 2.
Thus, in February of this year, the footballer was involved in a scandal during a Faceit match with Poles. The London club winger insulted players from Poland, specifically with his remarks regarding Volhynia, for which he received a ban in the game.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs even had to intervene in the Mudryk situation; in particular, the ministry emphasized that there should be no place for such incidents.