We sometimes take it for granted, but it’s important to maintain a healthy community in the most popular online games, from Fortnite, Call of Duty Warzone, and GTA Online to Counter-Strike.

However, bans and suspensions are a regular occurrence because there are always some users who don’t follow the rules and show disrespect to others.

The case of Mykhaylo Mudryk is, to say the least, peculiar. He is a 25-year-old Ukrainian football player for Chelsea, though he is currently suspended for doping.

Mudryk hasn’t played football since late 2024 and currently spends his time playing Counter-Strike 2 on his PC. Watch out, because he is part of an eSports platform, so he’s a pro.

Imagine how upset Mudryk was when Counter-Strike FACEIT, the London-based competitive gaming platform, notified him of his temporary one-month suspension.

Of course, there is a reason (or several, rather) that explains the temporary suspension of this Chelsea player, though he himself defends against the unjustifiable behavior of other players in the multiplayer shooter.

We are entering tricky territory because Mudryk’s suspension is not due to a purely gameplay-related aspect in Counter-Strike 2, but rather to differences with players of Polish nationality. Let’s remember he is Ukrainian.

Through Discord, several screenshots were leaked showing Mudryk using the term ''volyn'' in the game chat, as an insult toward other users during the match.

What does ''volyn'' mean? It is a way of referring to the Poles who passed away during World War II, in the Volhynia region and the eastern area of Galicia.

Mudryk, using phrases like ''lucky volyn'' or ''volyn next map'' is intolerable, so Counter-Strike FACEIT opted for a temporary suspension for violating the platform’s rules.

The Chelsea player defended himself in statements to the Ukrainian outlet Tribune, denouncing that some Poles won’t stop insulting Ukrainians, both in Counter-Strike and outside the game.

’I constantly hear and see how some Poles treat Ukrainians, especially those living in Poland. I notice it even in the details, for example, when I play CS. It’s almost impossible to win a game with them, because as soon as you try to communicate normally for the sake of teamwork, and they find out you are from Ukraine, the disrespect begins.’

For the next few weeks, Mijailo Mudryk will not be able to play Counter-Strike 2, so he will have to find another video game to pass the time, as his doping suspension remains in effect.

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