Chelsea’s Mudryk appeals to CAS over four-year doping ban – Reports

Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk has approached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to appeal a four-year doping ban imposed on him by the English Football Association (FA), British media reported on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian was charged with anti-doping rule violations in June last year after a sample taken in 2024 returned a negative finding for a banned substance believed to be meldonium. Mudryk had said the negative finding came as a “complete shock” as he had never knowingly used a banned substance.

After joining Chelsea in January 2023 for an initial fee of €70 million, Mudryk was provisionally suspended in December 2024 and the 25-year-old has not played since.

“CAS confirms that it has received an appeal from Mykhailo Mudryk against the FA, lodged on 25 February 2026,” it said in a statement to the BBC and the Times.

“The parties are currently exchanging written submissions and a hearing has yet to be scheduled.”

The FA said it could not comment as the case was ongoing. Reuters has contacted CAS for comment.

Meldonium is the same substance Maria Sharapova tested positive for, with the Russian tennis player initially banned by the International Tennis Federation for two years before an appeal led to her ban being reduced to 15 months.

Published on April 29, 2026