Why Mykhaylo Mudryk has been banned for four years – and what Chelsea do next
Why has Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk been banned for four years - and what could happen next?
18 months since he last played a competitive football match, the fate of Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk has finally been made known – the Ukrainian has been suspended by the FA for four years after being found to have used a banned substance.
Chelsea have reportedly lodged an appeal with Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the result of which could see the ban reversed. But what exactly did Mudryk do wrong, when will he be able to play again, and what are Chelsea’s options if the appeal is unsuccessful?
Why has Mykhaylo Mudryk has been banned for four years?
Mudryk was originally given a provisional suspension by the FA in November 2024 after returning an adverse sample from a urine test, but the specifics of the case had been kept under wraps with neither the FA nor Chelsea providing public comments on the matter.
It has now been revealed that Mudryk has been handed a four-year ban, meaning that he is currently prevented from playing in official matches until December 2028 – the ban is backdated to include the provisional suspension which was put in place while he was under investigation.
According to The Guardian, traces of the drug Meldonium were found in Mudryk’s system. Meldonium, a drug which can enhance stamina by improving blood flow, is the same substance which tennis player Maria Sharapova was banned for taking in 2016. It is often used in the treatment of ischaemia.
The four-year ban is the maximum sentence which can be imposed on a player for the misuse of a controlled substance under regulation 77 of the FA’s anti-doping policy. Exceptions to the length of the ban can be made if the usage was found to be unintentional – so the ban implies that the FA did not find evidence of accidental use.
Mudryk, who cost Chelsea more than £60m when he signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023, stated at the time of his original suspension that the adverse doping test had come as a “complete shock” and insisted that he had “never knowingly used any banned substances.”
What happens next – and what are Chelsea’s options?
It has now been reported that Mudryk and Chelsea submitted an appeal to CAS in February. A date for the hearing has not yet been set, but CAS have the power to overturn or reduce the player’s suspension – which could free him up to play again next season if the verdict goes in his favour.
If the club and player are unsuccessful in their appeal, however, and Mudryk is determined to have intentionally take a controlled substance, then there is a possibility that he could be in breach of a contract which is still set to run until 2031. Chelsea have experience with this situation: In 2003, the club terminated the contract of goalkeeper Mark Bosnich, after he failed a random drugs test, testing positive for cocaine.
In 2005, Romanian forward Adrian Mutu received a seven-month ban after also testing positive for cocaine. Mutu’s contract with the club was broken and Chelsea sought compensation from the player, with FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber eventually ordering Mutu to pay Chelsea nearly £12m, a decision which was upheld after appeals with both CAS and the European Court of Human Rights.
It is not clear whether Chelsea would wish or be able to pursue a similar course with Mudryk should his appeal against his ban fail, but it is possible that they would seek grounds to terminate his reported £100,000 per week contract if he is unable to play again until 2028. Neither Chelsea nor the FA have made any comment on proceedings or likely outcomes as it stands.