Two male footballers playing in the top four tiers of English football tested positive for a prohibited substance after matches last season — but both escaped disciplinary sanctions.

As Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk continues to serve a provisional suspension after returning an “adverse finding” in a routine urine test in November, The Athletic can reveal that two unnamed players also failed tests last season.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), the independent agency tasked with overseeing testing programmes across all sports, showed that two players tested positive for a banned substance during the 606 tests carried out immediately after games in the Premier League and Football League (EFL) last season.

Two players also returned positive samples during the 2022-23 season, one after a game and the other during out-of-competition testing. UKAD confirmed that none of the players who tested positive for prohibited substances faced further sanctions.

A confidential process protects the identity of the players in question and it is unclear which substances were found in the samples or why they escaped punishment.

The FOI requested by The Athletic also showed the number of tests carried out by UKAD was markedly down year on year.

There were 2,176 tests (606 in competition and 1570 out of competition) across the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two in 2023-24, a year after the same four divisions had seen 2,546 tests carried out (684 in competition and 1772 out of competition) . That represented an 11 per cent fall in testing across the elite level of English men’s football.

A statement from the English Football Association (FA), which funds the anti-doping programmes across the English game, to The Athletic said: “We take anti-doping in English football extremely seriously.

“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.

“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.”

How often are players tested?

Of the 2,176 tests carried out last season, 982 of those came at Premier League clubs. That, in theory, would suggest roughly 50 samples were taken at each top-flight squad. The figure includes random post-match testing, as well as visits to training grounds and homes.

Players featuring in European competitions and international football are subject to further testing. UEFA says 3,939 samples were collected across its club and national team competitions by doping control officers last season, including the finals of the European Championship and Champions League, where testing was most frequent.

Who is responsible for testing footballers in England?

UKAD, with funding provided by the FA, currently oversees the testing of players in the Premier League, EFL and Women’s Super League (WSL). The FA calls it “one of sport’s most comprehensive anti-doping programmes”. Testing can include blood and urine samples, as well as the biological passport programme. The FA also runs its own “social drugs programme” of testing with a focus placed upon the use of recreational drugs, such as cocaine.

Clear directives are given to all players each season and remind them of the “strict liability” over any banned substances found. The sole responsibility, it says in the FA’s anti-doping guidance, belongs to the player “regardless of how (the substance) got there and whether there was an intention to cheat or not”.

Why would a player who has tested positive not be punished?

An adverse analytical finding (AAF) does not automatically lead to an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV). Players can potentially have a therapeutic use exemption (TUE), which is a medical document permitting an athlete to take medication that is otherwise on the list of prohibited substances.

Sanctions can also be avoided if the player is able to show the substance was ingested through a substance that is permitted.

How common are doping cases?

Doping cases — and convictions — remain uncommon in elite football. Paul Pogba this week completed his 18-month ban, which was reduced from four years on appeal, after he was found to have elevated levels of testosterone in his system when at Juventus in August 2023.

Chelsea’s Mudryk is still yet to learn his fate. The Ukraine international, 24, was provisionally suspended in December when the banned substance meldonium was found in a urine test. Mudryk said he has “never knowingly used any banned substances” but it is unclear when he will be able to resume his career.

Hull City midfielder Oscar Zambrano, on loan from Ecuadorian club LDU Quito, was banned for 16 months in November for a breach of anti-doping rules by the South American federation CONMEBOL but he has since lodged an appeal through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The last player banned by the English FA for taking a performance-enhancing drug was Bambo Diaby, then of Barnsley, who was suspended for two years after the banned substance higenamine was detected after a game in November 2019.

(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)