LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Ukraine international Mykhailo Mudryk, one of the most expensive players in world soccer, risks missing the next European Championship if he loses his appeal against a four-year ban in a doping case.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed the Chelsea winger, who was signed by the Premier League club for $108 million in 2023, was in the process of appealing against the four-year ban imposed by the English Football Association.
The sides are exchanging written submissions and a hearing has not yet been scheduled, the court said.
There had been no update on the case since the FA said last June that Mudryk had been formally charged with “Anti-Doping Rule Violations alleging the presence and/or use of a prohibited substance.” The exact substance involved has not been confirmed officially.
Mudryk said in December 2024 that he had “ not done anything wrong ” after it was confirmed he had given a drug-test sample that contained a banned substance. He has not played since then.
Mudryk has not commented on the case since. He has posted footage of him training in private on social media in recent months and was seen with Chelsea fans last year when Chelsea won the Conference League final in Poland.
A four-year ban is the starting point for sanctions in a typical first-time doping case under the World Anti-Doping Agency rules used across multiple Olympic sports.
The period is often shortened for mitigating circumstances, such as if an athlete consumed a contaminated supplement or made a mistake with medication, or if the athlete admits an offense at an earlier stage.
Doping sanctions are typically backdated to start from the date an athlete was first provisionally suspended pending a full hearing. The next European Championship will be in the summer of 2028, co-hosted by Britain and Ireland.
Mudryk sat out Ukraine's recent World Cup qualifying campaign. Ukraine fell short of qualification by losing to Sweden in a playoff in March.
Mudryk was one of the most sought-after players in Europe when he was signed from Shakhtar Donetsk after competing interest from Chelsea's London rival Arsenal.
The 25-year-old from Ukraine has scored 10 goals in 73 games for Chelsea since then but many of those appearances have been from the bench and his time at the club was widely regarded as underwhelming even before the doping case emerged.
Chelsea gave Mudryk an eight-and-a-half-year contract, an unusually long deal in modern soccer. It is due to run through 2031.
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FILE - Chelsea's Mykhailo Mudryk looks on during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Newcastle at Stamford Bridge in London, on Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he is removing certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week’s White House visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom.
“The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!” Trump posted on social media.
Trump said people had wanted this change, especially with regard to the wooden barrels in which the spirits of Scotch and bourbon can be aged. His post left it unclear if the tariffs were being lifted on bottles of Scotch or on the materials used to produce alcohol in both countries.
“I will be removing the Tariffs and Restrictions on Whiskey having to do with Scotland’s ability to work with the Commonwealth of Kentucky on Whiskey and Bourbon,” Trump said.
The White House did not respond to emails seeking clarification about the details of what Trump announced, though the post was interpreted in Scotland and by industry lobbyists as removing the tariffs on Scotch.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later said in a Thursday statement that the U.S. would give “preferential duty access for whiskey produced in the United Kingdom.” The administration did not immediately respond to questions about whether that meant eliminating the tariffs or lowering them.
The Trump administration in 2025 reached a trade framework that put a 10% tax on most goods imported from Britain. The Scotch Whisky Association said its export volume to the U.S. fell 15% after the tariffs were announced in April of last year.
The president, answering questions from reporters in the Oval Office, said the tariffs were lifted to specifically enhance the trade of barrels between Scotland and Kentucky, which produces almost all of the world's bourbon. The barrels are used to age the alcohol.
“I just took all the restrictions off so Scotland and Kentucky can start dealing again,” said Trump, who added that he's “not a big drinker."
Still, John Swinney, Scotland's first minister, interpreted the president's statement as a removal of tariffs on Scotch itself, calling it a “tremendous success” for his country.
“People’s jobs were at stake. Millions of pounds were being lost every month from the Scottish economy," said Swinney, expressing gratitude to both Trump and King Charles III.
Trump has used alcohol as a pressure point in his tariff threats. Last year, he threatened a 200% tariff on European wine — a major potential blow to French and Italian vineyards that never came to fruition.
Foreign countries have responded in turn with threats on bourbon and other American products.
In the end, the Trump administration exempted cork from tariffs, a huge relief to Portugal, the leading supplier of the material used to cap wine bottles.
Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council in the U.S., also interpreted Trump’s post as a removal of the 10% tariff on whisky from the United Kingdom.
“We applaud President Trump for working to restore a proven zero‑for‑zero model of fair, reciprocal trade between our two nations,” Swonger said in a statement. “This action strengthens transatlantic ties, brings much‑needed certainty to our industry and allows spirits producers on both sides of the Atlantic to grow, invest and support jobs at a critical time.”
AP correspondent Jill Lawless contributed from London.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump bid farewell to Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Britain's King Charles III walks to his vehicle during the departure from the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
