SUSPENDED STAR
Why has Mykhailo Mudryk been suspended from playing football?
All details explained below
MYKHAILO MUDRYK has been struggling for premier league minutes this season - now he's potentially looking at a lengthy ban from football.
Reports suggest the winger has tested positive for an illegal substance and will be facing a strong punishment preventing him from playing football.
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Mudryk has now been provisionally suspended by the FA after they were made aware of his initial A-sample failure.
Chelsea and the player are now waiting the result of the B-sample, which if it comes back positive, will confirm the original test.
Why has Mykhailo Mudryk been banned from football and how long is the ban?
Mudryk could be facing a potential ban from football for FOUR YEARS after testing positive back in late October.
The Ukrainian, 23, is said to have tested positive for Meldonium, which is a metabolic substance that is similar to insulin.
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This substance is said to help the body quickly restore energy so it can prepare for new loads of physical stress.
Meldonium has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances since 2016.
What is Meldonium?
Meldonium, also known as Mildronate is a performance enhancing drug that is a banned substance with similar properties to insulin.
It is used in heart disease therapy but is also claimed to enable athletes to withstand greater stress, use oxygen more sparingly and restore energy levels quickly.
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This substance was most notably used by former Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova, who tested positive back in 2016.
It saw Sharapova receive a two-year doping ban, which was then cut to 15 months following an appeal.
How long are drugs bans in football?
By SunSport's Joshua Jones
MYKHAILO MUDRYK could be banned for up to four years after failing a drugs test
But what are the rules regarding drugs in football?
There is a big difference between recreational drugs and performance-enhancing substances.
Recreational drugs - such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, LSD and MDMA - carry a six-month suspension.
However, this ban can increase to up to two years if a drug is detected when a player is tested after a match.
But performance-enhancing drugs carry a far more severe punishment.
And crucially the alleged drug Mudryk tested positive for, meldonium, falls under that category.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code's standard ban is four years.
That is how long Paul Pogba was suspended for following his failed drugs test - although it was later reduced on appeal to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The FA follows the UK Anti-Doping code under the WADA authority so will follow their lead and procedures.
Should Mudryk's follow-up secondary 'B' sample also test positive, he is likely to be hit with at least an 18-month ban but it could be as high as four years.
The only person in football currently banned on the UKAD sanctions list for anti-doping rule violations is Craig Campbell.
The former Scottish striker was banned for four years in December 2022 after being convicted of dealing cocaine.
What did Mykhailo Mudryk's statement say?
The Chelsea winger, who was bought for £88million back in January 2023, released a statement on Instagram this morning detailing that he did not purposely break any rules.
He wrote "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.”
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