Chelsea star Mudryk shares emotional message after doping ban lifted

Mykhailo Mudryk has broken his silence after being given the green light to return to football, with the FA confirming disciplinary proceedings against the Chelsea star have now been resolved. The 25-year-old winger is now poised to link up with the Blues on their pre-season tour in Hong Kong.

Mudryk last featured for the club since November 2024. The Ukrainian international was given a four-year suspension by the FA following an anti-doping violation after testing positive for meldonium, but the player appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Writing on Instagram, Mudryk said: "After a long battle, the four-year ban that was imposed on me has been rescinded, and I am free to resume my career with immediate effect. I am grateful that this process has reached a conclusion, that I have been cleared to return to football and that I can now look ahead to my future.

"This has been the most difficult period of my career. As I have always maintained from the outset of this case, I have never knowingly or intentionally taken any banned substance.

"My commitment to competing fairly and representing my club and country with professionalism and integrity has always been important to me. I would like to thank my family and friends for their support and belief throughout this period.

"I also want to express my deep gratitude to everyone at Chelsea FC, my teammates and the Chelsea supporters who have been with me throughout. I would also like to thank my legal team and others who assisted for their tireless work on my case.

"My focus now is on returning to football, working hard every day, and making a positive contribution on the pitch. Thank you to everyone who continued to believe in me. I look forward to the next chapter of my career."

A statement from the FA explained the lifting of Mudryk's ban, which read: "The FA can confirm that the anti-doping disciplinary proceedings against Mykhailo Mudryk were resolved with the agreement of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on 30 July 2026. In the context of that agreement, Mr Mudryk has accepted his commission of Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) and accepted a period of ineligibility.

"On 22 October 2024, Mr Mudryk was subject to an out-of-competition doping control, which revealed the presence of a low concentration of meldonium, a prohibited substance. The FA notified Mr Mudryk of that finding on 4 December 2024 and imposed a provisional suspension. On 23 May 2025, The FA charged Mr Mudryk with ADRVs in breach of Regulations 3 and 4 of its 2024 Anti-Doping Regulations."On 7 to 9 January 2026, a hearing took place before an independent Regulatory Commission. The Regulatory Commission found that Mr Mudryk had committed the charged ADRVs and imposed a four-year period of ineligibility. Subsequently, Mr Mudryk filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

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"Since then, changes have been made to WADA Technical Document (TD2027MRL) which, while not retroactive, mean that if Mr Mudryk's sample was collected today, the concentration of meldonium in the sample would not have been reported and no ADRVs would have resulted."Further to that development and to other circumstances of the case, The FA and Mr Mudryk have now - with the agreement of WADA - resolved the appeal proceedings in accordance with Article 10.8.2 of the World Anti-Doping Code and Regulation 90 of the 2024 Anti-Doping Regulations.

"As a part of the agreement, Mr Mudryk accepted that he had committed the Anti-Doping Rule Violations charged and acceded to a period of ineligibility equal to the time served at the date of the agreement. Mr Mudryk is no longer ineligible and may return to competition with immediate effect."

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