Why was Mudryk given ban in secret and what happens now?

Why was Mudryk given ban in secret and what happens now?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Mykhailo Mudryk hasn't played for Chelsea since November 2024ByDaniel Austin, BBC Sport senior journalist and Nizaar Kinsella, Football reporterPublished7 minutes agoWhen news broke that Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has begun an appeal against a four-year doping ban, many football fans' immediately asked, what ban?That is because the Football Association, who have issued the ban to the Ukraine international due to an "adverse finding in a routine urine test", never announced their decision or any details of the punishment in public.The news only became common knowledge on Wednesday because the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) announced Mudryk had taken the decision to appeal against the ban.So why has the process been kept secret and what happens now?When was Mudryk banned and why the secrecy?BBC Sport has been told Mudryk was banned by the FA in January but that only a close-knit group of people around him and a small number of people at Chelsea were informed.That is because the FA's anti-doping programme is deemed strictly confidential - all parts of the process, from testing to discussions with lawyers, are carried out behind closed doors in order to respect the privacy of footballers.UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) works in collaboration with the FA on the programme.In many other sports, provisional bans for positive tests are announced publicly.In its privacy policy for anti-doping, the FA says: "We will process sensitive personal data in carrying out processing. We do this for the purposes of eliminating doping in sport and protecting the integrity of the game."Data may be shared with a number of third parties. As well as sharing data with Ukad, information may be shared with the police where there is evidence of criminal conduct, with Uefa and Fifa and any other relevant event organisers and international federations with doping resp...