The news about Mikhail Mudrik’s doping tore apart the information space. One of the most talented players of this generation could face a four-year ban. This is very worrying, because it will absolutely hit the Ukrainian’s prospects and reflect on the national team, where he has grown to the status of the main star.
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Whatever the decision, we remember similar cases in domestic football – first of all, we wonder if there is life after illegal drugs.
- Sergey Nagornyak
Joints of the 1998 World Cup. In addition, Ukraine lost to Croatia 0:2, another unpleasant blow awaited us. Bromantane, a substance that masked the presence of other contents, cost Sergei Nagornyak two years and disrupted the microclimate in the national team. Of course – acting without an important character, in a scandalous atmosphere, József Szabó’s team exchanged goals in Kyiv and missed the opportunity to show themselves in France.
The striker admitted guilt and maintained his condition with Dnepr, and after the ban ended he tried to reboot at Shakhtar, but did not find support from Viktor Prokopenko. Traveling to Chinese clubs, Arsenal Kiev, Volyn, Metallurg Zaporozhye is clearly not something a professional with pretensions should dream of.
- Dmitry Nevmyvaka
In 2006, Dmitry Nevmyvaka went to the European Youth Championship, sat on the bench and… was punished for using a diuretic drug.
A one-year ban is strict, but not critical when you are only twenty-two. Nevmyvaka calmly sat out and continued to steadily defend the colors of Zaporozhye Metallurg. 157 meetings, goals against Dnepr, Shakhtar, Zorya – everything is pretty good and without any complaints.
In 2010, Dmitry joined “Mariupol”, then moved to Belarus and played for the amateur “Tavria-Skif” from Rozdol, Zaporozhye region.
But this is very atypical – in 2008, Denis Stoyan, primarily known for his performances for Vorskla Poltava, was caught using marijuana. The defender emphasized that “at my birthday I tried hookah for the first time in my life,” and this was enough for Tavriya to instantly terminate the employment contract.
UEFA awarded Denis four months, and after that the performer ended – he went to the First League, tried to reboot in “Desna”, “Mykolaiv”, “Bukovyna”, “Zvezda” and “Poltava”. In 2012, I quit sports.
- Valentin Slyusar
Two months of absence is nothing compared to other cases. In 2009, Valentin Slyusar struggled with excess weight, after which he confessed to the crime; moreover, the drug itself was included in the “conditionally prohibited” category.
Given the fact that the disqualification came into effect in the summer, the defensive midfielder missed a few rounds of the 2009/10 season and returned to the fold. However, with consequences: less quotation in the eyes of Miron Markevich, modest practice and free agent status. As they say, a holy place is never empty: Oleg Shelaev made excellent use of the gift of fate and influenced the Kharkov residents to receive another bronze.
From 2010 to 2012, Valentin represented the interests of Obolon, where he hung up his boots.
- Alexander Rybka
Sasha burst into the mix of Shakhtar Donetsk with both feet – in the autumn part of the 2011/12 season he ousted Andrei Pyatov (and this, believe me, was not possible for everyone), proved himself to be excellent in the Champions League and was considered a contender for participation in the home Euro. Everything is fine?
In January 2012, UEFA found furosemide in the goalkeeper’s tests and punished him for two years. Rybka denied it, but essentially missed out not just on precious time, but on the opportunity to fully gain a foothold in the “orange-and-blacks” and make a career for himself.
When the guy was picked up by Dynamo Kiev in 2013, he no longer had the enthusiasm, reputation, and lost the competition to Shovkovsky. A controversial period in Turkey, a trip to Azerbaijan and Latvia, Metalist, Lviv and Obolon – we are willing to bet that deep down Alexander regrets that he took a wrong turn.
- Valery Lebed
In 2014, the UAF and UEFA visited Valery Lebed, but decided not to punish him in the same way as Rybka. The midfielder took the medicine from his wife, and this became a mitigating circumstance.
“I asked my wife to give me a painkiller tablet. She gave me one for my head, the other for a painkiller that lowers blood pressure. And it turned out that it contained some kind of prohibited substance.
It’s all my own fault—neither the team nor the doctors. I wrote an explanatory note together with my wife, in which we explained the situation.”
Four months and a fine of 25 thousand hryvnia is generally uncritical. Lebed stayed in the Donetsk “Olympic” until 2016, was on the balance sheet of “Veres”, “Sum”, “Polesye”, and then appeared… in the annexed Crimea. As you can see, he is a dishonest person.
- Stanislav Mikitse
In January 2017, the Alexandria center back took “medicine” for hypertension, like Mudryk, and risked falling out of the profession for four years, but contributed to the investigation and ended up “resting” for a season and a half.
Let us note that “Alexandria” did not turn away from Mikitsey and paid him a salary (yes, half, but still a good gesture). In August 2018, the defender became available and took part in 12 matches (823 minutes) in the 2018/19 season.
Later he moved to the Latvian “Jelgava”, “Chernomorets” and “Mariupol”. Since 2022, he has been playing in the lower divisions of Poland.
- Artem Besedin
In 2019, Besedin “failed” at Malmö, but football authorities limited himself to a one-year punishment – they say the doctor mixed up the stimulant pills (Leonid Mironov was suspended from work), so the striker’s guilt is minimal.
And you know, Artem managed to avoid widespread hate – no matter how paradoxical it may sound, Covid helped. The Chinese infection put any activity on pause, attracted maximum attention, so the Dynamo graduate quietly sat out, and then also went to the European Championship.
It was a terrible knee injury in the match with Sweden that crippled Besedin and determined his future – loss of conditioning and lack of competition launched an inevitable process. Loans, moving to Kazakhstan, free agent status – and that’s twenty-eight.
You can also remember Alexey Gai, who, unlike Rybka, limited himself to a warning in 2011. But in general at Shakhtar they often grabbed people by the hand – there were also Fred and Darijo Srna.
Photos – archival
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