Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudrik has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after receiving a four-year ban from the Football Association for doping.
CAS confirmed it had received his appeal against the FA on February 25. The FA, Chelsea and the player’s lawyer would not comment.
Chelsea signed Mudrick from Shakhtar Donetsk for 88 million pounds in January 2023, and there are still five years left on his contract.
The positive test was for the banned substance meldonium, but Mudryk believes his sample was contaminated when he was on an international mission to Ukraine in October 2024.
Mudrick was provisionally suspended by the FA in December 2024 after failing a drug test.
In a statement that same month, Mudrick said the failed drug test was “absolutely shocking” and that “he did nothing wrong.”
Chelsea said it had launched its own investigation shortly after the FA began and that the then-23-year-old insisted he had “never knowingly used a banned substance”.
ukraine International, Signed for £88.5m from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023, he last played and scored for Chelsea on 28 November 2024 against German side Heidenheim in the Conference League.
Now, 16 months after his initial suspension, Mudrick maintains he is innocent. He has been keeping fit away from Chelsea’s Cobham training ground and working with his own personal trainer. Chelsea will allow the process to take its full course.
Mudrik has not played for Chelsea since November 2024.
Analysis: ‘FA says nothing about Mudrick ban’
Sky Sports News Chief Correspondent Kaveh Solhekol:
“The only reason we know Mudrick was banned by the Football Association is because it was confirmed by CAS that he appealed this.
“The FA themselves have said absolutely nothing because it is a confidential process. Chelsea have not said anything and the player’s lawyers have not said anything.”
“Mudryk was a big money recruit for Chelsea. He hasn’t played for Chelsea for almost 18 months. He took a doping sample while he was with the Ukraine national team, not when he was playing for Ukraine.”
“It tested positive and we believe it was due to meldonium. He was provisionally suspended by the Football Association in December 2024 and we learned last June that he had been charged with an anti-doping offence.
“Since then there has been radio silence. We didn’t know what was happening until today.
“If he loses his appeal, you would think he would not be able to play until the end of 2028, as he has already been provisionally banned for almost 18 months. It would be a bitter blow for the player and for Chelsea.”
