Mudryk’s strange decision around doping ban has left fans and media in the dark for months | OneFootball

Mykhailo Mudryk is serving a doping ban – we all knew that, but until this week we didn’t know how long the ban was.

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We finally found out this week that Mykhailo Mudryk’s ban from the FA for doping for was handed out in January, and was four years.

It’s only become public because he’s put in an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The FA’s anti-doping programme is “strictly confidential,” according to an explainer from the BBC.

Mudryk leaves everyone in the dark over ban

That’s all well and good. It seems fair that it should come down to the banned player to decide when and if to release information about their punishment.

What’s more strange is that Mudryk’s party didn’t put out any information about the ban. The secrecy around it all did nothing to help him, only ramping up the conspiracy theories and speculation about what he’d been banned for and for how long.

Of course it’s reasonable to allow the player to release that information on his own terms – it’s just strange that Mudryk didn’t, especially if he knew that it would come out now that his appeal is in.

In any case, at least we have some idea now of when he could be back. He’s 18 months in to a four year ban, and a reduction of a year would mean he’s already halfway through.

In other news…

Angelo Stiller could be on the move from Stuttgart this summer, and his release clause could make him an option for the Blues.

Another midfield option for the Blues this summer could be Valentin Barco, currently playing for our sister club Strasbourg, where he’s just been nominated for a very impressive award.

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