Key Takeaways
- Mykhailo Mudryk has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against his four-year Football Association ban.
- The Chelsea winger hopes to return to the pitch next season rather than wait until December 2028.
- He says he never deliberately took any banned substances and blames accidental contact with a medication.
Mykhailo Mudryk is fighting the four-year ban he got from the Football Association. The Chelsea winger has taken his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland.
The 25-year-old Ukraine player has not played a match since November 2024. He got a temporary ban in December 2024 after a routine drugs test showed a bad result. The FA officially charged him in June 2025. They then gave him the maximum four-year ban.
Mudryk now hopes CAS will cut or end this punishment. People close to the player say he wants to play again next season. If he loses the appeal, he cannot play until December 2028.
The winger thinks he accidentally touched or used meldonium. This happened when he was playing for Ukraine in October 2024. Meldonium is a heart drug that can improve stamina. It is on the banned list.
Chelsea bought Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 for £61 million. When his temporary ban started, he said he was totally shocked. He said he never deliberately broke any anti-doping rules.
Morgan Sports Law is handling his case. This law firm also helped Paul Pogba, Tyson Fury and Chris Froome in their doping cases.
While waiting for the decision, Mudryk is staying fit at non-league club Uxbridge FC. He trains there with a private coach and works with goalkeepers he hired. He wants to be ready if CAS allows him to play this year.
Chelsea FC will not comment while the legal case continues. The Football Association also says it cannot talk about ongoing cases. CAS confirmed it got the appeal on 25 February 2026. The parties are now sending written documents to each other. A hearing date is not set yet.