Latest news with #anti-doping
New York Times
11 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Mykhailo Mudryk's doping charge explained: Can Chelsea sack him if found guilty and could he appeal?
After provisionally suspending Mykhailo Mudryk in December for a failed drugs test, the English Football Association (FA) has now charged the Chelsea winger for violating its anti-doping regulations. This means Mudryk, who has not played a competitive game of football since the end of November, could now face a maximum penalty of a four-year suspension. Advertisement Although the 24-year-old was in Wroclaw, Poland, to watch Chelsea lift the UEFA Conference League on May 28, he is not with the squad for their ongoing involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup, which is taking place in the United States. In statement released on Wednesday afternoon, the FA said: '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.' As per the FA's anti-doping regulations, Mudryk now has 20 days to decide whether to accept the finding and whatever punishments follow, or request a hearing with the FA. Although a four-year ban would be the worst-case scenario for Mudryk, a possible suspension could range anywhere from two years to a month, depending on any mitigating factors. Here, we explain the background to his case — some of which appeared in an article previously published in December — and what happens now. In December, it emerged that a routine drugs test found Mudryk to have — in Chelsea's words — 'an adverse finding' in a urine sample provided by the player. This immediately led to a provisional suspension from Chelsea's first team as they awaited the results of further testing. When urine samples are collected, they are put into two separate containers. The A sample is used for the initial test, and if that comes back positive, they then test the B sample to verify the accuracy of the first result. So, following Mudryk's positive A sample, his B sample was then tested, which verified that he had tested positive for meldonium, a banned substance. The Athletic previously reported that Mudryk returned the positive test for meldonium after being away on international duty in November during a period that saw him feature in Ukraine's Nations League fixtures against Georgia and Albania. Before his positive test became public knowledge, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca was asked about Mudryk's absence and simply said he is 'out', or that he was ill, without giving any further reason. Advertisement Neither Mudryk or Chelsea have spoken publicly since the FA announced its decision to charge him on Wednesday. In December, the club issued a statement saying that Mudryk 'has confirmed categorically that he has never knowingly used any banned substances'. In the same statement, the player said: '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.' If the charge is upheld, the player's options would be limited. 'If a ban is imposed, he will have the option to try to reduce the length of the ban by appealing the sanction,' says Dan Chapman, a partner and head of employment and sports law at Leathes Prior. Chapman notes that any appeal by Mudryk would be to the FA, though his legal team may also explore whether they can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), which is where Paul Pogba had his four-year ban reduced to 18 months. Chapman says that the 'domestic process is reasonably speedy', both in terms of possible sanctions and any appeal. 'Appeals to the European system are complex, even if available, and will take some while,' he adds. 'The thing with Pogba was that he was of an age where the sanction was career-ending and challenging the ban was his only play. If Mudryk feels that he no realistic prospect of overturning any ban, the situation could change. 'Depending on how long the ban is for,' Chapman continues, 'the advice might be that once the FA process has been concluded, he will need to accept the outcome and that he will still have plenty of time to play after the ban ends.' If the FA finds against Mudryk then, unlike the player, Chelsea would have several options. In the standard Premier League contracts that are in place between all players and clubs, there is a definition of gross misconduct, and being found to have taken a prohibited substance falls under the definition, as it does in accordance with FA rules. Advertisement 'The club, on the face of it, would have a relatively open-and-shut case to say the player is guilty of gross misconduct and, if they wanted to, they could terminate the player's contract,' Chapman says. 'They would need to give 14 days' notice to the player in writing if that is what they wanted to do. 'There is an appeal process available to the player, and we are not talking about an appeal against the drugs finding, but an appeal against the decision of the club to terminate his contract for gross misconduct. 'The player can follow that process, although it is hard to see how any appeal could realistically be successful, if the FA allegations have been upheld.' When Mudryk joined Chelsea in January 2023, he signed an eight-and-a-half-year contract, the last year of which is optional, meaning he could be tied to the club for another six years. But Mudryk would not have the remainder of his contract paid out if he is sacked for gross misconduct. Chelsea would only need to pay him for the 14 days. Another option open to Chelsea, Chapman explains, is that they may decide to keep Mudryk, given his age, potential and remaining contract length. In this scenario, the Premier League side may seek to renegotiate the Ukrainian's contract and put him on a significantly lower wage while he serves the ban. It would still be up to Mudryk, however, to sign a new deal on reduced terms. He may instead fancy his chances as a free agent if the alternative to that is being sacked by the club. If Chelsea opt to sack Mudryk, then Chapman says they could in theory also sue him for damages, which is what they successfully did when they sacked Adrian Mutu in 2004 after he tested positive for cocaine and was handed a seven-month ban. 'That is a very rare step, but that is an option open to them,' adds Chapman. 'They would argue they bought an asset for £80million, he breached the contract, and now the asset is worth virtually nothing. Advertisement 'Not many clubs would ever want to do that because the message you are sending future players is that if you sign for us and things go wrong, then we may sue you. This doesn't tend to happen, but it can. The signs so far, and who knows whether this is a justified position not being privy to the facts, is that Chelsea are being fully supportive of their player.' A prohibited substance, in short. Meldonium is a heart disease drug developed in 1970 in the former Soviet Union. It is designed to combat ischemia, a condition where blood flow is restricted to body tissue, muscles or organs. It boosts metabolism and increases blood flow and, by extension, the exercise capacity of athletes. It was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)'s list of banned substances in January 2016 after its previous inclusion in the agency's monitoring programme the year before. Former Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova had been the most high-profile case of an athlete being banned for using meldonium. A failed drugs test at the 2016 Australian Open led to a two-year ban issued by the International Tennis Federation, with Sharapova accepting she had made 'a huge mistake' in taking the substance. Sharapova told a news conference in Los Angeles she had been given a medicine for 10 years by her family doctor and had been unaware that it had also been known as meldonium, which had been added to WADA's prohibited list in the weeks before her failed test. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced Sharapova's ban to 15 months in October 2016 after finding that she did not deliberately cheat and that there was no 'significant fault or negligence on her part'. The use of meldonium was not uncommon by Eastern European athletes before its ban, but it was the subject of a doping scandal in 2016 when the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia replaced its under-18s squad with an under-17s team at the World Under-18s Championships due to several players returning positive test results. Philip Buckingham Adverse findings are few and far between and, most commonly, have been due to traces of recreational drugs being discovered. Mutu, goalkeeper Mark Bosnich and one-time England midfielder Jake Livermore were all given suspensions by the FA for testing positive for traces of cocaine, as was the Cardiff winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing more recently, in 2020. Advertisement Further afield, the use of performance-enhancing drugs is rare but not without precedent. In February, Pogba was banned for four years when found to have taken a doping agent while at Juventus, a suspension that was later reduced to 18 months when an appeal to CAS found the consumption of the drug had not been intentional. He is still without a club. In February 2021, Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, then playing for Ajax, was banned for a year by UEFA after testing positive for furosemide, a diuretic. That was reduced to nine months by CAS after the court accepted Onana's explanation that he had confused the medication — which he said belonged to his wife — with aspirin. On November 4, Oscar Zambrano, the Hull City midfielder, was also given a lengthy ban. Zambrano had returned a positive test last season when playing for his Ecuadorian parent club LDU Quito but had remained eligible to feature until CONMEBOL issued a ban for breaching anti-doping rules. Hull, who had only signed the player on loan, said Zambrano intended to appeal through CAS but the case is not yet listed. Philip Buckingham Doping bans ordinarily fall between two and four years, although appeals can reduce the length of those bans, as was seen in the case of Pogba. 'If we look at what happened with Paul Pogba, his violation and the consequences that followed, that was a lengthy ban,' says Jibreel Tramboo, a sports lawyer at Church Court Chambers. 'I understand the circumstances are different but the point still follows. 'Anti-doping regulations are a strict liability offence. Athletes are fully responsible for substances found in their bodies. It's irrelevant if it's accidental or intentional. If it's there, it's a breach. You could argue a reduced sanction if he can demonstrate no significant fault or negligence in what he's taken but there is arguably no defence.' Philip Buckingham
BreakingNews.ie
14 hours ago
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Thursday's briefing: Mudryk charged and Real held on Alexander-Arnold debut
Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged by the Football Association over an alleged breach of anti-doping regulations. Trent Alexander-Arnold's Real Madrid debut ended in frustration at the Club World Cup, but Manchester City's Rico Lewis endured an even more disappointing night as he was sent off. Advertisement England edged their way into the European Under-21 Championship quarter-finals despite defeat by Germany. Mudryk charged Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged by the Football Association with violating anti-doping rules (Zac Goodwin/PA) Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged by the Football Association with violating anti-doping rules. The 24-year-old, an £88.5million (€103 million) signing from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023, has not played since being handed a provisional suspension in December after he returned a positive test, reportedly for the banned substance meldonium. An FA statement said: '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 three and four of the FA's anti-doping regulations.' Advertisement Rico sees red Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola leapt to Rico Lewis' defence after he was sent off at the Club World Cup (Peter Byrne/PA) Pep Guardiola leapt to the defence of Rico Lewis after the Manchester City defender's 'unnecessary' sending-off in their Club World Cup opener. Lewis was dismissed by Brazilian referee Ramon Abatti after catching Samuel Obeng in the face following a sliding challenge two minutes from the end of a 2-0 victory over Wydad Casablanca. City boss Guardiola said: 'He touched the ball. For the speed they go to touch the ball – for the Newton's theory your leg has to be a little bit higher and the other player was down. 'Rico had no intention. It was unnecessary, honestly, the red card, but the referee had a different opinion and he's the boss.' Advertisement Madrid pay the penalty Trent Alexander-Arnold made his Real Madrid debut in the 1-1 Club World Cup draw with Al Hilal (Lynne Sladky/AP/PA) Debutants Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen suffered a frustrating evening in Miami as Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 Club World Cup draw by Saudi side Al Hilal. Madrid boss Xabi Alonso and opposite number Simone Inzaghi were both taking charge of their new clubs for the first time. Gonzalo Garcia fired the Spanish giants into a 34th-minute lead but Ruben Neves levelled from the penalty spot before the break. Alonso's men had the better of the second half, but could not find a way past stubborn opponents as Federico Valverde's stoppage-time penalty was saved. Advertisement Reigning champions limp into last eight A narrow defeat in Nitra for our #YoungLions , who still progress to the #U21EURO knockout stage. Our match report ⤵️ — England (@England) June 18, 2025 England will play Spain in the quarter-finals of the European Under-21 Championship after they were beaten 2-1 by Germany in their final group game in Slovakia to finish runners-up in Group B. Lee Carsley's side needed a victory in Nitra to go through to the knockout rounds in first place, but despite already-qualified Germany making 11 changes, the reigning champions struggled to impose themselves. Goals from Ansgar Knauff and Nelson Weiper sent the 2023 winners to defeat and left them to face pre-tournament favourites Spain – who they beat in the final two years ago – in Trnava on Saturday. Bournemouth's Alex Scott tapped home 15 minutes from time from Omari Hutchinson's cross to make it 2-1, with Slovenia's defeat by the Czech Republic enough to secure England's passage. Advertisement What's on today? Lionel Messi's Inter Miami return to Club World Cup action on Thursday (Rebecca Blackwell/AP/PA) The Club World Cup is the focus once again as Lionel Messi's Inter Miami look to register their first win of the competition when they take on Porto in Atlanta, having drawn their opening fixture against Al Ahly 0-0. The Egyptian side are also in action again, this time against Palmeiras.
Reuters
27-05-2025
- General
- Reuters
Griekspoor finds friendship during awkward waits in anti-doping process
PARIS, May 27 (Reuters) - Dutch tennis player Tallon Griekspoor said he had formed an unexpected bond in the awkward moments of the sport's anti-doping process after striking a friendship with an official while waiting for the urge to pee into sample containers. Anti-doping protocols in tennis are based on the World Anti-Doping Agency code and its whereabouts rules require players to designate a 60-minute slot for each day they will be available to provide blood or urine samples to officials. The unglamorous process can take place at tournaments or out-of-competition in training venues, tournament hotels or even an athlete's home, with three missed tests in a 12-month period grounds for a doping violation. World number 35 Griekspoor said at the French Open that he found some positives in the burdensome process when his bladder failed to cooperate quickly. "A couple of times I peed and 30 minutes later the guy rings the doorbell and he's sitting on my couch for three hours. I'm not the best pee-er when somebody's watching," the 28-year-old told reporters. "At the same time it is what it is. I'm not the best in keeping the location up to date. Sometimes it's a struggle but overall it's fine. You get to know these people. "The guy who comes to my home is a pretty nice guy. I have fun chats with him sometimes." Griekspoor's comments come as tennis finds itself under the spotlight over high-profile doping violations involving Italian Jannik Sinner and Poland's Iga Swiatek, with both players back on the circuit after serving short bans. While vigilance remains the watchword, some players still complain about the inconvenience of the system, with four-times Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka saying she recently provided a blood sample at 5:00 a.m., a time she had allotted. The International Tennis Integrity Agency, which runs the sport's anti-doping programme, said it was committed to helping players navigate any issues. "We recognise that anti-doping testing can be challenging and uncomfortable for players, however it is vital that there is a robust programme in place to protect the sport," the body told Reuters via email. "This includes out of competition testing, as well as testing at events. We are here to help and support players and urge them to contact us if they have questions about testing or need help with the whereabouts process." Russia's former world number one Daniil Medvedev said the system sometimes disrupted carefully calibrated routines and led to missed tests. "It's a hassle, because I myself ... had two missed tests," Medvedev added. "It's actually very tricky. People think, 'Oh, how can he miss it? Try travelling 25 countries a year. Try not to forget one date that you're not in Monaco but in Paris already and change it. "It's not easy, but it is what it is."
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Tennis star Naomi Osaka opens up on 'scary' 5am drug test wake-up call just days before beginning her French Open campaign
Former world number one Naomi Osaka revealed she endured a 'scary' 5am wake-up call to be drug tested on Saturday. The Japanese star, who plays Paula Badosa in the first round of the French Open on Monday, was targeted by anti-doping control at the crack of dawn in Paris. The testers, she said, often struggle to find her veins as they attempt to take a blood sample, sometimes leaving her arms bruised. 'I honestly don't know the rules about talking about anti-doping,' said the 27-year-old. 'Am I allowed to say whatever I want? 'I don't know. They're kind of scary. Yeah, for me, anti-doping is like - I don't have a great relationship with them, just because they always come and take blood and urine, which I don't know if that disgusts people to say, but whatever, and my veins are, like, very notoriously hard to find. 'One person once told me it was like a Japanese thing. I don't know if that's accurate. Yeah, so they come at 5am and 'stick' me multiple times. 'Usually they can't find my veins, so they have three attempts to find it. Sometimes they can't find it. 'They're like, "oops, sorry, let me try this arm, let me try this arm, let me try this arm". I always have to tell them "hey, my playing arm is my right arm, I prefer the left, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah". 'And today was kind of scary, because the last year I was here they also came at 5:00am, and the lady couldn't find my veins at all. 'I had huge bruises on my arms for a while. Thankfully it wasn't the same lady. No shade to her. And yeah, today was a success because luckily I had to use the bathroom when they woke me up, so...' Britain's Emma Raducanu admitted she has undergone similar unpleasant experiences. 'Sometimes it feels like pin the donkey, because at 6am you're not very hydrated and everything,' she said. 'It's like you can't get any blood out, and they have however many attempts. That's a bit difficult, but I think we all have to go through it.
Reuters
06-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Extra doping tests for On athletes after sponsorship deal with AIU
May 6 (Reuters) - Swiss shoe company On has signed a partnership agreement with the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) that will help fund extra anti-doping tests for its sponsored athletes. The deal will expand the World Athletics' Registered Testing Pool(RTP) and strengthen the Road Running Integrity Programme, the AIU said. On joined major sportswear brands Adidas, ASICS and Nike, which have committed financially to the programme since 2019. The company, however, becomes the first to fund the inclusion of additional athletes in the RTP. "This new initiative allows sponsors to ensure that their key athletes are subject to the most rigorous testing standards possible and has been approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as a legitimate means of expanding the funding available for testing," the AIU said. On will fund an additional six athletes in the RTP in 2025. "To have an additional mechanism to expand the testing pool via third-party funding is obviously great news for the sport and a demonstration that integrity is being taken extremely seriously," AIU Head Brett Clothier said.
