A number of footballers have used banned substances since 2022, but none of the players in question are understood to have been handed a ban of any kind
Nine footballers have been found to have used banned substances since 2022, according to UK Anti-Doping figures. However, none of the individuals are understood to have faced bans as a result.
The latest numbers relate to incidents during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. This means the positive test for Mykhailo Mudryk is not included in the statistics.
News of Chelsea winger Mydryk’s positive test came to light in December 2024, after he had made a number of appearances for the Blues earlier in the season. The Ukraine international categorically denies knowingly taking any banned substances.
According to The Sun, citing UKAD figures, four players – including two attached to Premier League clubs – tested positive last year. Two of those four are reported to remain under investigation.
The nine individuals to test positive so far have all been permitted to continue turning out for their clubs, the same publication claims, while the Football Association reportedly accepted that the substances in question were taken for medical purposes or “via a permitted route”. Mirror Football has contacted UK Anti-Doping for comment.
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In 2023, it emerged that UK Anti-Doping had granted 80 therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) to 80 footballers over the previous five seasons. Fourteen of those were given to nine different Premier League players across the time period.
Athletes given TUEs are permitted to use ordinarily banned substances or techniques to treat health issues. Players are required to apply for a TUE before taking the substance in question.
“If a Player with a legitimate medical condition needs to use a prohibited substance or method, they will need to apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE),” the FA website explains. “This is only accepted if there are no other suitable permitted medications or treatments that can be used, and there is a strict, detailed process to determine this. “
A report in March from The Athletic, citing a Freedom of Information request with UK Anti-Doping, said two male footballers in the top four tiers of English football had returned positive tests in the 2023-24 season. The names and substances were not shared for confidentiality reasons.
“We are fully compliant with the National Anti-Doping Policy of the UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; fund one of world sport’s leading anti-doping programmes; and input into targeted, researched and intelligence-led drug testing that is directed by UK Anti-Doping,” the FA told The Athletic at the time. “We also operate our own dedicated social drugs programme to safeguard the physical and mental wellbeing of footballers; and to uphold the values and ethics of the sport.”
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