Banned Chelsea Star Gets Banned ... AGAIN!

Mykhailo Mudryk Receives Gaming Ban On Top of Doping Punishment

Remember Mykhailo Mudryk? Yes, despite the fact we haven’t seen him on a football pitch or in a Chelsea shirt for over a year, he’s still knocking about, attempting to keep himself busy until he either sees out his ban for doping or has his sentence cut short.

In the time that has elapsed since he received his four-year “no football” order, the Ukrainian has only been sighted very rarely - on one occasion, fans thought he had taken up Uber driving, while on another, it was reported that he passed a voluntary lie detector test regarding his use of the drugs, verifying that he did so unknowingly.

De 70 millions à Chelsea à… chauffeur Uber 😳
L’incroyable chute de Mykhailo Mudryk, suspendu pour dopage.
Comme quoi, tout peut basculer dans le foot ⚽️💔#football #mudryk #chelsea #dopage #storytime #efl #uber pic.twitter.com/gxu2iYrpLb

— Le Football Total (@LeFoototal) October 17, 2025

Now, though, he has re-entered the public eye in the most bizarre fashion possible - for receiving a 28-day ban on the popular video game Counter-Strike 2 (CS2).

Why Has Mudryk Been Banned?

It is only natural that, when deprived of being able to do the job you trained your whole life for, Mudryk suddenly has a lot of free time on his hands. Of course, training and staying fit will be a big part of his routine, but those can only take up so much time, and regardless of your professional scenario, everyone needs some downtime.

That, to Mudryk, means gaming, and clearly he is a fan of first-person shooter (FPS) GAMES. CS2 is one of the most popular editions out there, with almost 1.5 million different people alleged to have played the game in recent months.

However, recent online screenshots indicate that “downtime” is still a competitive setting for the winger - he clearly doesn’t mess around and certainly delivers some stick to those he perceives deserve it.

However, on Tuesday he took his trash talking a step too far and was slapped with a month-long ban from the game as a result.

Playing with some Polish players, things clearly got heated, and his adversaries, realising who they were playing with, start to bait Mudryk in the in-game chat, writing comments including “go do more drugs” and “go play football”.

Many wouldn’t fall for such childish digs, but Mudryk took the bait and escalated the squabble, replying with the brief but hurtful comments “unlucky Volyn” and “Volyn next map”.

🇺🇦🚨MYKHALO MUDRYK BANNED ONCE AGAIN.

🔵Not only has the Chelsea man been banned from football, he's now banned for "toxicity" on a video game.

😂There really is no helping this man.#Chelsea #CFC #Mudryk https://t.co/LxJmvY90mR pic.twitter.com/VrL5mBLvRE

— Football Park (@FP_CentreCircle) February 4, 2026

For those who are unaware, Volyn, or Volynia, is a region that sits across the border of Ukraine and Poland, and is one that holds great historical significance to Polish people.

In 1943, at the height of World War Two, Poland had been occupied by Germany. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, then known as the UPA, swarmed the region in a mission to massacre Polish civilians in an attempt to prevent a post-war Polish state from asserting its sovereignty over Ukraine, and things got seriously nasty.

In all, it is estimated that 100,000 people died in the conflict, which was spread over two years and also occurred in the nearby region of Eastern Galicia, with roughly 85,000 of these being Polish.

In a complete lapse of judgement, Mudryk let his rage get the better of him, all over a silly video game where respawning (or alternatively turning off the console) is as easy as pushing a button.

What Next for Mykhailo Mudryk?

In spite of his ban, Mudryk is on track to return to football. Though no statement has been made regarding his sentence, the Ukrainian has been seen training apart from the squad at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, and there have been a number of rumours suggesting that he is close to rejoining the squad.

A number of social media pages claimed that Mudryk could return to Chelsea’s first team as soon as January, but given that he has not appeared on any of new manager Liam Rosenior’s team sheets thus far, a outcome of his ban remains unresolved.

🚨BREAKING: Confirmed source says Mudryk will be back in Chelsea squad in January. pic.twitter.com/KXSa5MkYVL

— MatchDay Central (@MatchDCentral) December 15, 2025

However, it speaks volumes that Chelsea fans are claiming that if he were in the squad, he would be the side's starting left winger, as the Blues faithful become ever more impatient with both Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho.

Blessed with electric pace, bold dribbling and the ability to beat his player in the blink of an eye, an in-form Mudryk could be the answer to Chelsea’s wide-man crisis. If his return is indeed round the corner, don’t expect him to be out of the side for long.