Ukrainian footballer, Mykhailo Mudryk, has had a turbalent a few years. He has hardly played due to personal reasons. It has now come to light that he was banned for a doping violation.
The FA have handed Chelsea attacker Mykhailo Mudryk a four-year. Chelsea have been without the services of the Ukrainian since December 2024 when the FA first provisionally suspended him after he tested positive for doping.
The Blues gave his number 10 shirt to Cole Palmer in June 2025 and he was later charged with violating anti-doping rules. The 25-year-old has not played since then and has now been handed a four-year ban.
However, Mudryk’s doping case has gone to CAS after an appeal was filed by the Chelsea star against the FA in February 2026.
Parties have exchanged written submissions and a hearing is yet to be scheduled. It remains to be seen whether he will be successful in his appeal and the Blues could now consider a mutual termination of his contract.
The winger joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023, signing an eight-and-a-half-year contract for an initial transfer fee of £62 million, potentially rising to £89m in add-ons.
Mudryk has ten goals and 11 assists in 73 appearances for the Blues since then and appears to have played his last game for them from the look of things.
He has been training individually since his initial suspension, away from Chelsea’s facilities and it will be interesting to see how the situation unfolds in the coming weeks and months.
He has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against a four‑year drugs ban imposed by the Football Association.
The Ukraine international has been sidelined for nearly 18 months after an "adverse finding in a routine urine test" led to a provisional suspension in December 2024.
Charged in June 2025, Mudryk was subsequently handed the maximum four‑year ban by the FA, according to a spokesperson for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest legal authority in sport.
The FA has never disclosed details of the case. In such cases, bans are typically backdated to the start of the provisional suspension, meaning his current return date would be around December 2028.
However, an appeal has now been lodged with the CAS in Switzerland, with sources close to the player hopeful he could return to action as early as next season.
In a statement, CAS said: "CAS confirms it has received an appeal by Mykhailo Mudryk against the FA, filed on 25 February 2026. The Parties are currently exchanging written submissions, and a hearing is yet to be scheduled."
In his only public statement when his provisional suspension began, Mudryk described his "complete shock" and said he had "never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules."
Mudryk is being defended by Morgan Sports Law, the firm who worked with former Manchester United midfielder, Paul Pogba, during his doping case while playing for Juventus, as well as boxer, Tyson Fury and cyclist, Chris Froome, during their respective investigations.
He is understood to want to return to playing football this year and is keeping fit by training at non-league Uxbridge FC with a private coach and having hired goalkeepers to work with.
CAS has confirmed it received his appeal against the FA on 25 February.
Mudryk was provisionally suspended by the FA in December 2024 after failing a drugs test. In a statement the same month, Mudryk said his failed drug test was "a complete shock" and said he had "not done anything wrong".
While the FA has remained tight-lipped regarding the specific details of the case throughout the process, the severity of the sanction has now been confirmed. Under current rules, the ban is expected to be backdated to the start of his provisional absence; which would effectively prevent the former Shakhtar Donetsk winger from returning to professional football until December 2028.
Chelsea launched their own investigation shortly after the FA's began, and said the then 23-year-old insisted he "has never knowingly used any banned substances".
Chelsea will save a staggering amount if Mykhailo Mudryk doesn't play for the club again following the confirmation of his record-breaking ban. Shakhtar director, Sergei Palkin, has revealed the enormous financial impact that the outcome of the case will have for both them and Chelsea.
The terms of the deal stipulated that Chelsea paid an initial £61 million, with a potential further £27 million due in bonuses if conditions were met.
Should Mudryk never play for Chelsea again, the Blues won't be forced to pay that sum to the Ukrainian giants - who will in turn miss out on a valuable amount of money.
"We have €30 million of bonuses in his contract. If he's not playing, or Chelsea aren't reaching results, we are losing €30 million," he told journalist Ben Jacobs.
"That's a big financial impact for us. Everybody believes this story will finish as soon as possible with a positive result and Mudryk will return to playing. Otherwise, we will be in a position to lose €30 million.
"I know Mudryk as a player and a person. I believe he will return and start playing again... Everybody is waiting for the court's decision, and we don't have any information about when this will take place and when the final decision will be issued."
Mudryk believes his sample was contaminated.
Mudryk came into contact with the cardiovascular medication meldonium, which can increase respiratory capacity and stamina, while on duty with the Ukraine national team in October 2024.
These kind of cases always tends to be hit and miss. Either it's a concrete case or a weak one. All players will deny a purposeful intake. In my view, players who are under this investigation never fully recover - regardless of the outcome.
Their career will go downhill from the moment they resume their playing days.