The Ukrainian winger was involved in a video that appeared to show him using racist language before making his £88m move to Chelsea earlier this month and the FA have now opened an investigation
The Football Association have launched an investigation into a video involving Chelsea star Mykhaylo Mudryk repeating a racial slur.
The Ukrainian winger completed a £88m move to Stamford Bridge earlier this month with the Blues having beaten Arsenal to his signature. He has made just one appearance for his new employers thus far with a promising cameo against Liverpool.
But the 22-year-old has already become embroiled in controversy after a historical video of him posted on TikTok. In a clip posted in July 2022, Mudryk recited a 2017 rap song called Freestyle by American artist Lil Baby and repeated the N-word.
The forward has apologised via his representatives, who told The Sun: “Mykhaylo is deeply sorry for any offence caused.
“While his intention was solely to recite lyrics of a song, Mykhaylo regrets his decision and wholeheartedly accepts it was not appropriate.”
The video has since been deleted but was viewed more than 200k times and Mudryk is now facing a probe from the Football Association, as per The Athletic.
The FA have previously decided to take a strict approach to historic social media posts. Jarrod Bowen and Marc Bola are both among those to have been punished for old posts on their accounts whilst former Burnley and Watford forward Andre Gray was given a four-match ban in 2016 for homophobic comments he posted four years previously.
Mykhailo Mudryk recited rap lyrics including the N-word in a TikTok later deleted ( Image: TikTok)
Leading football anti-racism group Kick it Out have condemned the video of Mudryk, stating the term should not be used in any context. Their statement read: “Kick It Out condemns the use of all racial slurs, including the N-word irrespective of context. The N-word is deeply offensive and the use of this term by high-profile figures in football can only serve to alienate people from the game.
“It is important that footballers use their significant platform in a positive way, and we’re encouraged to see that Mykaylo Mudryk has acknowledged the hurt caused by his use of this offensive slur.”
Mudryk made his Chelsea debut against Liverpool earlier this month ( Image: Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Chelsea will now wait to discover if Mudryk will face a similar fate as they look for him to build on a promising debut against Liverpool. After his first appearance, Chelsea boss Graham Potter said: “[Mudryk] hasn’t played football for a while, he’s been on a mid-season break so we’ve had to manage his minutes and he’s still in that phase.
“But I think you can see his quality. I thought he had a good impact on the game.”
The Blues have endured a poor first-half of the 2022/23 campaign having won just eight of their opening 20 league games. As a result, they languish in tenth in the Premier League table. Ahead of his switch to Chelsea, Mudryk had scored ten goals and notched eight assists in just 18 appearances for the Ukrainian club.
src: https://www.mirror.co.uk/
