Mykhailo Mudryk
Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who joined the club from Shakhtar Donetsk for a significant fee of £62 million plus £27 million in bonuses in January 2023, has not featured for the Blues in nearly 18 months. This absence follows a provisional suspension in December 2024 after testing positive for meldonium, a banned substance. The Football Association officially charged the 25-year-old with anti-doping violations in June 2025, prompting Mudryk to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in February 2026. The CAS recently confirmed that written submissions have been exchanged, and a hearing will be scheduled. Meanwhile, Chelsea is allowing the legal process to unfold fully.
Simon Jordan said: “If you can tap dance your way around legislation as Conor Benn did and other fighters have done, it will be almost unbelievable to think that Mudryk won’t find a solution to some extent to get himself into a position where the ban is reduced from four years to two years. My nose tells me, that with the kind of resources that a player that’s cost £88m would have around him, that they’ll find a way to get themselves into a position despite strict liability and having to account for it, that they get themselves back into a situation where two years is what they serve. Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.”
Simon Jordan continued: “Chelsea are sitting on the sidelines paying his salary because the alternative is, either looking at the opportunity as a breach of contract, because if he’s being charged and now found guilty, he’s potentially in breach of contract. And what you’ve got, is a player now that is an £80m misfit, has got banned for drug consequences, now defending himself – not against the fact there’s drugs in his system – against how they’ve got there. Strict liability means you’ve got to have a cast-iron, copper bottom, unassailable reason, which clearly hasn’t been the case, otherwise he wouldn’t be getting a four-year ban from the outset.”
Simon Jordan said “He’s relying on the Court of Arbitration for Sport to look at it perhaps more equitably in their minds, and the usual form is, they’ll take the ban and they’ll take it into two years rather than four.”
The situation surrounding Mudryk is complex, with Chelsea opting to let the legal proceedings run their course. The club has not yet taken any action against the player, despite the potential breach of contract due to the doping charge. Mudryk’s case highlights the challenges athletes face when dealing with strict liability in doping cases, where proving innocence can be particularly difficult. The former Crystal Palace owner, Jordan, expressed confidence that Mudryk could see his ban reduced, allowing him to return to professional football by December 2026. This development could be crucial for Chelsea, who invested heavily in the Ukrainian international and are keen to see a resolution that allows Mudryk to return to the pitch.
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