Former Blues midfielder John Mikel Obi has revealed that he could have unknowingly been a victim of drug use during his time at Chelsea, as he was randomly offered substances unfamiliar to him.
This revelation comes in the wake of Ukrainian forward Mykhailo Mudryk receiving a provisional suspension for failing a doping test, after testing positive for an A-sample in late October.
Mudryk has however, denied the allegations, stating that he has never ‘intentionally’ injested any substance prohibited in the sport.
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What Mikel Obi said
Speaking on the matter, Mikel Obi stressed the importance of caution for athletes, particularly regarding substances they consume. He recounted his time at Chelsea, when friends and acquaintances would offer him strange performance-enhancing substances, all of which he rejected.
“For him (Mudryk) and his family, I hope he is innocent. I remember when we were playing, if someone was offering me something, I would ask them what it was,” Mikel said on the Obi One podcast
“I’m responsible for what I put in my body, what I eat, and stuff like that. People around will offer you things—friends, friends of friends—they’ll tell you that it’ll give you this or that, or improve your performance by one or two percent. And I’d ask, ‘What is this? Is this legal?’
“I’d tell them to go away; I didn’t want to hear about it. We have to take responsibility for our actions and what we consume. But for now, Mudryk is innocent until proven guilty.”
Meanwhile, Mudryk faces a potential four-year ban while awaiting the results of his B-sample test, which, if positive, would confirm the initial result.
