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Analysis Mykhailo Mudryk’s four-year ban and appeal explained: What happened? Chelsea future? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7241086/2026/04/29/mykhailo-mudryk-four-year-ban-appeal-explained-Chelsea/ Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk is appealing a four-year ban after being hit with the English Football Association’s maximum penalty for doping. Mudryk, 25, was provisionally suspended by the FA in December 2024 after an adverse finding in a routine urine test. He maintains his innocence and will take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in an attempt to reduce or overturn his sanction. The Athletic explains how the case has unfolded, what could come next, and what it means for Mudryk’s Chelsea future. What happened initially? Mudryk’s most recent appearance for Chelsea came in a 2-0 win over Heidenheim in the Conference League on November 28, 2024, and he was an unused substitute against Aston Villa on December 1. The winger’s subsequent omissions from matchday squads were attributed to illness by then-head coach Enzo Maresca. On December 17, the FA provisionally suspended him after an adverse finding in a routine urine sample. The Athletic was told by multiple sources, who wished to remain anonymous as they are not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, that Mudryk tested positive for meldonium following international duty with Ukraine in November 2024. What is meldonium and have others been banned for using it? Meldonium is a heart disease medication used to treat ischemia, which, in simple terms, is a reduced blood flow to parts of the body. According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), meldonium may be used clinically by those suffering from heart conditions, such as angina and low blood flow to the heart. However, in sport, it can help athletes recover from exercise and improve endurance. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) added meldonium to its monitoring program in 2015, and it was added to the list of prohibited substances in 2016. Several athletes in other sports have fallen foul of the ban, with the most high-profile case involving tennis star Maria Sharapova. The Russian failed a test for meldonium shortly after it was banned and said she had been taking it for health reasons. Sharapova was initially banned from tennis for two years, but had that reduced to 15 months by CAS after appeal. Mykhailo Mudryk has not played since November 2024Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images How did Chelsea and Mudryk respond? Chelsea issued a statement on their website on December 17, 2024, announcing that the FA had recently contacted Mudryk “concerning an adverse finding in a routine urine test”. The club reiterated that all their players are regularly tested and pledged to “work with the relevant authorities to establish what has caused the adverse finding”. In a statement on his Instagram account, Mudryk protested his innocence. “I can confirm that I have been notified that a sample I provided to the FA contained a banned substance,” he said. “This has come as a complete shock, as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules. I am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened. “I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful that I will be back on the pitch soon. I cannot say any more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can.” Chelsea immediately withdrew Mudryk from first-team consideration and he has not played professional football for club or country since. Is a lack of intent a defence according to the FA? No. The FA deals with the use of prohibited substances as ‘strict liability’ violations — meaning it is not necessary to show intent, fault, negligence, or knowing use by Mudryk for him to have violated the rules. The FA’s regulations do say that a ban can be eliminated if the person establishes they bear “no fault or negligence”, and can be reduced if they establish “no significant fault or negligence”. When was he formally charged? Mudryk was formally charged in June 2025. An FA statement said: “Mudryk has been charged with anti-doping rule violations alleging the presence and/or use of a prohibited substance, in terms of regulations 3 and 4 of the FA’s anti-doping regulations.” What happened on Wednesday? In a statement issued to The Athletic and other media organisations, CAS confirmed that Mudryk lodged an appeal with the court on February 25, 2026, against a four-year ban imposed by the FA, adding that the parties “are exchanging written submissions, and a hearing is yet to be scheduled”. Having not publicly disclosed their punishment of Mudryk before CAS confirming the winger’s appeal, the FA reiterated its policy of not commenting on ongoing cases when contacted by The Athletic on Wednesday. Chelsea also declined to comment, with sources speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the situation indicating that the club want to let the appeal process take its course. How will the CAS appeal work? CAS confirmed that Mudryk’s lawyers and those representing the FA are exchanging written submissions. This is the first stage of the appeals arbitration procedure. During this stage, both parties must agree whether the appeal should be heard by a sole arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators. In the case of a panel, each party gets to nominate one arbitrator from the CAS arbitrators’ list. The president of the panel is selected by CAS. Once the written proceedings are over, a hearing may be scheduled, when both parties can present arguments, oral testimony and expert evidence to the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, who then deliberate before giving a final decision. CAS has created a specialised anti-doping division to hear and decide anti-doping cases in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code. The entire process can take many months to play out. Have other footballers successfully appealed a ban through CAS? Yes. Paul Pogba, now with Monaco, had a ban reduced from four years to 18 months in 2024, while goalkeeper Andre Onana (currently on loan at Trabzonspor from Manchester United) had his ban reduced from 12 to nine months in 2021. In both cases, the court accepted the players’ argument that their offence was unintentional. Paul Pogba successfully appealed a banValery Hache/AFP via Getty Images Has Mudryk been keeping himself fit? Mudryk has been following a specialised fitness programme during his exile from professional football. Chelsea have been monitoring him, but are not allowed to arrange any organised training for him. Instead, Mudryk has been supplementing his gym work in recent months by renting the 3G pitch at non-League club Uxbridge’s Honeycroft ground to help keep his football skills sharp, with his private team discreetly hiring coaches and goalkeepers to aid with his individual sessions. Judging by the training clips that have circulated on social media and the session observed by The Athletic this month, Mudryk has kept in impressive physical shape, even without competitive match action. He has lost none of his explosive athleticism and holds himself to high standards during drills, maintaining a serious focus despite not knowing when he will play again. Catch Up On The Story Watching Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk train alone at Uxbridge FC Whenever and wherever the Ukrainian can play professional football again, he looks determined to make sure he is ready Could Chelsea sack him if he’s found guilty? As The Athletic’s Dan Sheldon and Philip Buckingham reported in 2025, there is a definition of gross misconduct in the standard Premier League contracts between all players and clubs. Being found to have taken a prohibited substance falls under the definition, as it does in accordance with FA rules. Chelsea would therefore have a strong case to say Mudryk was guilty of gross misconduct and terminate his contract. They would have to give him 14 days’ notice, and pay him for those 14 days, but would not have to pay out the rest of his contract, which is set to run until 2031. They could also opt to keep Mudryk. Even if his appeal is unsuccessful, a four-year ban starting from when he was provisionally suspended in 2024 would only take him up to the end of 2028, leaving multiple years still on his contract. They could try to renegotiate a new deal with lower wages for the duration of the ban, but it would be up to Mudryk whether he wanted to sign it. The FA’s agent transaction lists reveal that there was an update made to Mudryk’s contract with Chelsea between February 4, 2025, and February 2, 2026. Club sources and sources close to Mudryk declined to provide details, but said the change was not significant. Chelsea sources also say the club are fulfilling their contractual obligations to Mudryk during this process. Liam Twomey|Chelsea Correspondent Cerys Jones|Football Writer

he is 25yo turns 26 next February so technically is not too old for BlueCo until the summer 2028 window

How can Chelsea progress under the BlueCo ownership? | Transfer Talk Podcast Sky Sports News On this week's episode of the Transfer Talk Podcast, Kaveh Solhekol and Sam Tighe joins Pete Graves to discuss the latest ongoinbg of Chelsea. With a new manager on the top of the wishlist, how can Chelsea progress under the BlueCo ownership? Intro - 0:00 - 3:29 Downing tools - 3:30 - 10:25 'Unpopular Rosenior' - 10:26 - 12:44 Manager type - 12:45 - 18:04 New manager have control? - 18:05 - 19:43 Who runs Chelsea? - 19:44 - 21:24 BlueCo positives - 21:25 - 23:04 Cost on missing UCL - 23:05 - 25:42 Hit or miss signings - 25:43 - 35:09 Measuring success - 35:10 - 38:26 Chelsea's selling power - 38:27 - 43:45 Enzo's future - 42:46 - 53:14

Ares could foreclose on BlueCo and up for sale we go and possibly into administration if the loses are too high eeeeek it has been closing in on 3 years since I started talking about Ares

WHO REALLY OWNS Chelsea? (ITS NOT WHO YOU THINK) 😱 George Benson Football Chelsea Who is actually in control of Chelsea Football Club? I sit down with Chartered Accountant Bobby Fairview to break down the £4.2 billion ownership structure behind BlueCo — and a recent disclosure from a Pennsylvania public pension fund that has raised serious questions about whether Clearlake's "61.85% ownership" is actually equity at all, or a loan. In this video We cover: The 22 Holdco / Blueco 22 structure Where the £4.2bn came from and where it went £1.4bn of pension money spent on the Chelsea squad £43.5m a month in cash burn Why Chelsea are now officially a sell-to-buy club (per the 2025 accounts) Whether Ares could force a sale of the club (the Lyon / Inter Milan parallel) What it all means for protests, the next manager, and the future of Chelsea FC Bobby is a Chartered Accountant in Ontario and a CPA in New York with 22 years across public accounting and private equity advisory. ➡️ The Athletic Article https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7200540/2026/04/21/blueco-Chelsea-finance-loan-bookkeeper/ https://archive.ph/fG7x1 also see:

No, we will never have to pay out the full bonuses/add-ons that took it to £89m. It could be as low as 60m quid (see below) or even less with settlements etc, etc. On 15 January 2023, Mudryk signed for Premier League club Chelsea on an eight-and-a-half-year contract for an initial transfer fee of €70 million (£62 million, now in April 2026 FOREX that is around £60m and dropping as the pound rises versus the euro), potentially rising to €100 million (£89 million, now £86.5m in April 2026 FOREX) in add-ons. more on the whole sordid thing: (and giving him the full 4 years hard ban for a relatively minor, first offence thing is kind of crazy harsh IMHO, and perhaps helps his CAS appeal) Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk appeals to Cas against reported four-year ban Ukrainian has not played since November 2024 Cas confirms appeal by Mudryk against the FA https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/apr/29/Chelsea-mykhailo-mudryk-appeals-to-cas-against-reported-four-year-ban The Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk has appealed to the court of arbitration for sport after he received a reported four-year playing ban from the Football Association for the use of a banned substance. Mudryk has not played a competitive match since November 2024 after he failed a drug test while on international duty with Ukraine and began a provisional suspension. Under the terms of any four-year ban he would not be eligible for selection again until December 2028, but if an appeal to Cas were successful then the 25-year-old could possibly return next year. It is understood that the appeal was submitted in February of this year and it was confirmed by Cas in a statement released on Wednesday. “Cas confirms it has received an appeal by Mykhailo Mudryk against the FA,” it read. “The parties are currently exchanging written submissions, and a hearing is yet to be scheduled.” Details of the case have been kept away from the public eye, with the FA refusing to comment throughout the disciplinary process. It has been reported, however, that Mudryk has received the maximum possible suspension after traces of the drug meldonium – which can improve an individual’s stamina – were found in his system. Under regulation 77 of the FA’s anti-doping policy, a four-year ban results if the violation relates either to a non-specified substance, unless it can be established that the violation was not intentional, or a specified substance where the FA can establish the violation was intentional. In a statement issued at the time of his suspension, Mudryk said the positive sample had come as “a complete shock” and he had “not done anything wrong”, with Chelsea adding the player had “never knowingly used any banned substances”. Mudryk joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 in a potential £89m move. He has scored 10 goals in 73 appearances in all competitions but rarely held down a regular place in the team before his provisional suspension. Chelsea would not comment on the news saying they had to let the process take its course. The FA said they would not comment on ongoing proceedings. end total with Chels only: 3611 minutes played all comps 21 total goals produced 10 goals 11 assists plus, in that same period of time in the seasons above above (but this time for Ukraine), he also had 10 more total goals produced (in far less minutes as well) 3 goals 7 assists for country

It would surely be utter malpractice for every club not to have some sort of clause in EVERY player’s contract that allows them to void it if they get popped for PED’s. Especially for ones that cost an absolute fortune in order to protect yourselves from just this sort of situation.

I just hope whoever it is they dont give a 6 year contract to!!! Cause there is no point

It sounds alright actually - prob go for it if i was younger - Sharapova got done for it as well I think ? Remember kids, not all drugs are good.... ......some are fucking brilliant 😅

Didn't he get meldonium positive results after attending Ukrainian national team training? I remember thinking that it was stupid that he was going as there are lots of envious teammates who have access to full spectrum of doping stuff. Putting a couple drops in water or food of his would be easy. Sure enough this did happened - so it didn't surprise me. Is there information regarding his tests prior to the national team trip? P.S. He is also from Kharkov which is ultra pro-Russian city - wonder if it's related.....

Understand it is a bank holiday in the UK, still weird they decided to move to that time slot, not so good for inland Europeans(crying in Norway).. Whatever, World Cup is coming, several games will start at 5-6am in my time zone, have to start explore my options how to watch matches during work.

Think they will wait for the appeal result - but if he loses the appeal -yeah type of Mutu situation The Latvian scientist who invented the drug - Ivar Kalvins - has outlined that the drug was designed for 'Soviet super soldiers'. Tons of the substance were exported to the Russian army with the scientist also revealing that there were 'very many who used it'.

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/match/Chelsea-vs-nottingham-forest-english-premier-league-2026-05-04

Does the club get to nullify his contract?

88 million 🤪

I doubt the CAS does anything here. This has been reviewed more than any football case I have seen.

Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been handed the maximum punishment of a four-year ban from the Football Association for anti-doping violations – and is now appealing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Category A Bell End

Fuck all will happen till June Meanwhile journos desperately trying to earn cash for their holidays will tweet/X anything for clicks

👀👀👀👀🗯💣💣 🤩🙌Big Dave on working!!!

FWIW - Kaveh is a 100% bullshitter and a tier 5 reliability source. But the one thing to consider with Cesc is to be in his ear for a future path to being manager here.

If we had a stable couple of years with Maresca and was looking for a change, then I'd be all over Cesc. Unfortunately, the chaos around the club means we need a safer appointment.

I’m fairly convinced it’ll be Iraola at the moment. It’s the easiest appointment they could probably make because he’ll be free from a club, he’ll be fairly easy to sell to the supporters, and because I don’t know of another big club of our stature that’ll be after him this summer with Carrick seemingly more and more likely to stay at United. With guys like Alonso it will probably be much more of a battle to convince him to come here. Even Cesc who may be smart enough to know that he could get Rosenior’d and make the jump too soon.

RDZ would have a falling out with the owners while signing his contract.

When I say that we are not convinced by any other candidate, I think I can safely say…View the full article

It's Bank Holiday in the UK that day