Suspended Chelsea player Mykhailo Mudryk also banned from CS2

10 February 2026

Back in January 2023, things were looking up for Mykhailo Mudryk. The Ukrainian youngster had just been converted into the most expensive Ukrainian footballer in history, after Chelsea FC paid £ 62 million for his services (potentially rising to £ 89 million) and gave him an 8,5-year contract.

Now, about three years later, life is looking quite different for the 25-year-old. He tested positive in a doping test back in 2024 and has been serving a provisional suspension from all football-related activities since then, and now the Ukrainian has also been banned from Counter-Strike 2 (CS2). Mudryk received a so-called “toxicity ban” after making offensive comments. The footballer was not representing Chelsea or any of their teams that compete in esports in the UK at that time.

Referencing a massacre

Before we continue, it is important to mention that, unlike his indefinite football ban, Mudryk’s CS2 ban is set to last for 28 days, counting from February 3rd, 2026, onwards.
Having cleared that up, we quickly took a look at what the Chelsea footballer actually did and why he received a ban for it. It seems to be the result of a heated in-game discussion (over chat) between Mudryk and some Polish players, as shown by screenshots that have been circulating on social media in the past few days.

In the chat, Mudryk can be seen trash talking some other players, who are also trash talking to and about him. The Ukrainian tells them they are bad and his rivals respond by telling him to “go play football” and “do more drugs”. This goes on for a while, until Mudryk references Volyn, which is a reference to Volhynia. This site is notorious in history for the Ukrainian massacre of Polish people during World War II.

Emotional response

Mudryk has already commented on the CS2 ban, saying that he respects Polish people and Poland, and that he is thankful to those Poles who support Ukraine. Unfortunately, according to him, he also faces a lot of abuse and disrespect from Polish players online after they find out who he is and where he is from. Mudryk said they do not only insult him but his friends as well, and that is makes CS2 team communication impossible. Nevertheless, the footballer acknowledged that he reacted emotionally and that he should not have, despite the provocations.

Smurf account

There is a possibility that Mudryk’s 28-day ban will be extended though, and if that happens, it would be entirely the player’s own fault. Apparently, the Ukrainian kept playing Counter-Strike after his ban, through a so-called smurf account. That is what gamers call someone’s secondary account, which is used by that someone to hide their high skill level and play against lower-ranked opponents.

This is not allowed by FACEIT, the platform on which Mudryk was playing Counter-Strike, especially not considering his current ban. As a result, he now also risks a permanent ban of his secondary account and a potential extension of the 28-day ban on his main account.