MYKHAILO Mudryk has been deemed ‘100% innocent’ by Shakhtar Donetsk’s sporting director, while the club’s CEO has slammed claims of the side suing the Ukrainian football association.
The 24-year-old was provisionally suspended in December 2024 after a urine test provided a positive result for a banned substance, meldonium, and then charged with a doping offence by The FA in June.
Now, Chelsea’s winger finds himself unable to play for the Blues or his country, who are at risk of missing out on qualification for the 2026 World Cup without him.
Costing Chelsea an initial £61m, which could rise to £89m with bonuses, rumours circulated last week on social media that Shakhtar could even SUE the Ukrainian Football Association if they were to miss out on money due to a potential ban.
However, the club’s sporting director, Dario Srna, rubbished these claims, telling BBC Sport, “When we speak about Mudryk, we don’t think about the money, we speak about the human being.”
“We feel so sorry for him. We know he is 100% innocent – he will show that.
“We support him like an ex-player, a human being and a friend. We don’t think the money is important.”
Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin added, “From time to time, I’ve spoken with Mudryk on the phone, and we’ve even met a couple of times in London. We maintain contact because he is our academy graduate and a high-profile player.
“Our relationship has always been good, and I felt it was important to support him morally during this period.”
Palkin said he had “no idea” how the positive test happened.
“Based on the information available to me, I simply cannot understand the circumstances that led to it.”
“I don’t know where that information [about potentially suing the UAF] came from. It’s nonsense. This idea has no basis whatsoever.
“I remain hopeful that this process with Mudryk will be resolved as quickly as possible, and that he will return to the pitch to continue his career.”
Shortly after his initial suspension became public in December, Mudryk wrote on Instagram: “I can confirm that I have been notified that a sample I provided to The FA contained a banned substance.
“This has come as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules, and am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened.
“I know that 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.”
While the Blues and their fans awaited the results of a ‘B sample’, the FA came out with the following statement on June 18th 2025, in turn confirming fans’ fears.
“We can confirm that Mykhailo 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,”
“As this is an ongoing case, we are not in a position to comment further at this time.”
The Ukrainian is working with the same legal firm that represented Paul Pogba during the ex-Man Utd midfielder’s doping case.
Pogba’s initial four-year ban was reduced to 18 months following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but for now, Mudryk’s future remains uncertain, and he is off the radar… apart from shooting his shot with actress Jordyn Jones on Instagram.
His most recent public appearance was at Chelsea’s Conference League final in Poland, where he was spotted in a bar with fans, wearing Chelsea gear, and posed for pictures with Blues supporters at the airport.
And while he remains listed as a senior Chelsea player on their website, he is without a squad number and is the only player pictured in last season’s kit, as opposed to the one every other player is wearing this year.
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