Chelsea legend John Obi Mikel has weighed on the ongoing failed drug test incident involving winger Mykhailo Mudryk after he was provisionally suspended.
The club confirmed that they received a notification from the FA that a sample provided by Mudryk during a random urine test contained a banned substance.
According to The Athletic, sources close to the player confirmed the substance found in his urine was meldonium, and a sample B will be available as a confirmatory test.
Mikel’s comment on Mudryk’s case
Speaking on the Talking Mikel episode of his Obi One Podcast, Mikel shared his thoughts on the incident, highlighting the importance of professional athletes being responsible for themselves.
“For him and his family, I hope he is innocent,” he said. “I remember when we’re playing, if somebody offered me anything, something. First of all, what I will ask you ‘what is this?’
“I’m responsible for what I put in my body, what I eat and stuff like that. So somebody comes and say ‘this can give you this’, which did happen, from people around.
“People around will offer you stuff, friends, friends of friends, will say ‘listen, this will give you one or two more percent in your performance and I will ask if it’s legal.”
He added that most claimed it was legal “but,” and that was where he turned them away, and that’s the part of a professional athlete being responsible.
“In this occasion as I’ve always said, innocent until proven guilty,” he concluded.
The Ukrainian international published a statement on his Instagram page denying intentional wrongdoing and working with his team to investigate the incident.
Mikel Obi advised Mudryk
Legit previously reported that Mikel Obi issued advice to Mudryk before the 2024/25 season started, and it received backlash from football fans in Nigeria.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk winger has yet to justify his €100 million price tag at Stamford Bridge, and the ex-Nigerian international pointed to the problem.
