17 Dec 2024 08:01:51
Obviously reports about Mudryk aren't good but the club haven't confirmed anything.
I have only seen WAGNH with the story and they say it's being reported out of Ukrain.
17 Dec 2024 10:15:53
Definitely not the news I expected to wake up to. From my understanding the initial reports are, like you said Tom, coming out of Ukraine. The club has, while I was writing this comment, confirmed the "adverse finding" in his sample. While I don't like speculating, I reckon this could probably explain why he's been "ill" for the past two weeks.
17 Dec 2024 11:43:55
My guess is you are correct regarding his reported sickness.
Reports are now saying that the drug concerned is “performance enhancing” and not “recreational, ” whatever that means.
Al sorts of stories about the lad having a personal trainer in recent months, I suppose that information could end up being relevant but I doubt it.
Apparently he and the club are awaiting the results of the “B” sample. Let’s hope that comes back with some good news.
17 Dec 2024 12:07:43
I think Mudryck is a “gym rat”. You don’t need muscles to be a good player e. g Eden Hazard.
17 Dec 2024 12:21:24
Well Tom, from my understanding and please correct me if I'm wrong Ed001, both performance enhancing and recreational drugs are considered banned substances in most (if not all) sports, for differing reasons of course, performance enhancing drugs being banned for, well, enhancing the perfomance of athletes, and recreational drugs being banned cause they are typically illegal.
In this particular instance, the reported drug is meant to enhance endurance and increase recovery after exercise, which obviously grants an athlete an unfair advantage compared to clean athletes.
Regardless, like you said, all we can do now is wait for the results of the B sample and hope for the best.
{Ed001's Note - yes, both are banned. The difference is usually how they are handled by the FA. If a player is banned for recreational drugs, the FA will usually allow them to be listed as injured during their ban, so long as they go into rehab.}
17 Dec 2024 15:05:50
Thanks for the clarification Ed!
It's interesting that players can be listed as injured if they get caught taking recreational drugs. I remember reading a few conspiracy theories about that practice potentially taking place, but I wasn't sure whether to believe it or not.
{Ed001's Note - it is not a theory, it has been proven on more than one occasion.}
17 Dec 2024 15:45:46
Oh wow I did not know that, that's quite interesting! I don't actually know how I feel about that to be honest. On one hand I understand that this may "protect" the players from public scrutiny and outrage, but on the other hand it seems shady to basically sweep something like that under the rug, so to speak.
I'd love to hear your take on it, if you don't mind of course.
17 Dec 2024 16:04:56
I’m a little confused about who tested Mudryk. It would seem to be the FA and not UEFA. I suppose in the scheme of things it doesn’t matter.
17 Dec 2024 16:04:59
It is about sweeping it under the rug, they just want the sport to look clean and are very lax about drug testing in general. Sadly they are more worried about optics and something similar to the way cycling collapsed in the wake of the Lance Armstrong revelations happening in football.
17 Dec 2024 16:32:19
Players who are banned for drugs should be held out to public scrutiny; they have let the club and the supporters down. If the FA won’t tell the truth then the clubs should.
17 Dec 2024 18:34:11
If the clubs consider a player as just an asset they are not likely to reduce the value of that asset.
A few years ago I was told by a senior FA official about a young player who racially abused an official. The young player was told he had to apologise and attend special training course. The player was not fined or banned but he was reported by the club as injured.
So, the above information that Ed has provided comes as no shock to me.
18 Dec 2024 09:17:42
Conspiracy theory here.
It happened while on duty in Ukraine, who is to say the Russians did not do this to get back at the FA and CFC for what was done to RA.
18 Dec 2024 09:36:56
Bill, putting aside the RA revenge angle, I had a similar idea and theory that if his “B” sample fails one of his advisors arguments will be it was the Russians what did it.
19 Dec 2024 21:42:10
It could be so.
23 Dec 2024 17:06:01
The B test should be back by now and 99% of the time, the B test is the same as the A test.