Mudryk ‘100% innocent’ despite Chelsea legal threats over ban

Mykhailo Mudryk is ‘100% innocent’ according to his former club Shakhtar, with the Chelsea winger currently suspended after testing positive for a banned substance.

Mudryk has not played for Chelsea since November 2024 after allegedly failing a doping test while on international duty with Ukraine following treatment from a minor injury, with the FA confirming that he had been provisionally suspended after ‘an adverse finding in a routine urine test’.

Should a ‘B’ sample provide the same result, Mudryk could face a four year ban, while Shakhtar would likely miss out on €30 million in add-ons from his 2023 transfer to Chelsea.

However, Chelsea have continued to support Mudryk, a stance which has been echoed by Shakhtar sporting director Dario Srna, who claims the money the club will miss out on is ‘not important’.

“When we speak about Mudryk, we don’t think about the money, we speak about the human being. We feel so sorry for him,” Srna told the BBC.

“We know he is 100 per cent 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.”

Chelsea legal threats ‘nonsense’, claims Shakhtar chief

The news comes after reports in Ukraine claimed that Mudryk tested positive due to a dose of stem cells from a cow who had been exposed to the banned substance.

This followed speculation that Chelsea could sue the Ukrainian Football Association for the their role in the situation – something which Shakhtar CEO Sergei Paltkin declared as ‘nonsense’.

“Based on the information available to me, I simply cannot understand the circumstances that led to it,” he said. “I have been in contact with the UAF. I asked them to support Mudryk and requested that the lawyers handling this case respond responsibly and without delay.

“This situation affects the image of Ukraine and Ukrainian football as a whole. That’s why, if there is any opportunity to help him, we must do so.

“I don’t know where that information [about potentially suing the UAF] came from. It’s nonsense. This idea has no basis whatsoever.”

Football transfer news headlines today

TRANSFER RUMOURS: €100m Chelsea signing, new Man Utd targets, Arsenal double deal

CONFIRMED: Lionel Messi agrees new MULTI-YEAR contract

Chelsea’s newest signing defended in EMERGENCY press conference

Mourinho BLOCKS Chelsea: New Benfica boss takes first decision

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•Google Play

•App Store