Polygraph and the Russian trail: new details of the Mudryk doping scandal
18 December 2024 11:29
Ukrainian footballer of Chelsea and the national team of Ukraine Mykhailo Mudryk has passed a polygraph test after it became known that his doping tests were positive. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" citing sport.ua.
It is reported that the player’s answers exceeded the average rate of trust several times and are very likely to be true. The player himself assures that he has never knowingly taken doping.
“I have never deliberately taken any banned substances or broken any rules… I know that I did nothing wrong and hopefully I will return to the field soon,”
– the footballer wrote on Instagram, adding that he and his team are cooperating with all regulatory authorities as much as possible.
A Russian trace?
However, there is a possibility that Mudryk was doing something wrong. Just a few months ago, in June 2024, the media reported on Mudryk’s affair with Russian fitness blogger Violetta Gracheva.
The two did not advertise their relationship, but the media noticed that the Russian and the Ukrainian footballer posted the same videos on their stories, Mudryk liked the Russian’s posts on social media, and on her birthday she posted a photo of flowers sent to her by a mysterious fan with the initials MM.
The Russian woman was in Moscow on her birthday, so the bouquet could only have been bought there. In this regard, many Ukrainian sports journalists wondered whether it was ethical for a Ukrainian football player to buy something in Moscow. Mudryk ignored these questions.
However, after the doping scandal, some people again mentioned Mudryk’s relationship with a Russian woman in the spirit of “make love, marigolds, but not with Muscovites.” The hypothesis is that the Russian woman could have easily slipped banned substances into Mudryk’s food or drink. In particular, a post with relevant hints was published by Ukrainian blogger Bohdan Logvinenko.
“Don’t teach your children Russian, because they can become football players and meet mysterious Russian women, one of whom will turn the boy into a Russian patriot, and the other will help them not to pass a doping test. Knowledge of Russian kills,”
– logvinenko wrote on Facebook.
Currently, there is very little information about Mudryk’s polygraph results and it is not known whether he answered any questions about the Russian blogger.
Mykhailo Mudryk’s career
Mykhailo Mudryk is a Ukrainian footballer born on January 5, 2001 in Krasnohrad, Kharkiv region. He is a graduate of Metalist Kharkiv, where he began his football career. Later he joined the academy of Shakhtar Donetsk. His first appearance for Shakhtar’s first team took place on October 31, 2018, in the 1/8 finals of the Ukrainian Cup against Olimpik.
To gain playing practice, Mudryk also played on loan at Arsenal Kyiv and Desna. The breakthrough in his career took place in the 2022/23 season, when Mudryk became a key player for Shakhtar and attracted the attention of European clubs due to his performances in the Champions League. In January 2023, he signed a contract with Chelsea London, and the transfer amounted to about €70 million, including €30 million in bonuses, a record for Ukrainian football.
Adapting to the English Premier League proved difficult, as Mudryk mostly disappointed fans and failed to meet expectations. In total, during his time at Chelsea, Mudryk played in 43 matches, scoring 6 goals and providing 9 assists. He mostly came on as a substitute, rarely getting into the main lineup.
Mudryk’s positive drug test became known the day before. It is reported that the banned substance was detected in his body at the end of October, and now the “B” sample is expected to be opened. The footballer faces up to 4 years of suspension for doping.
