EX-GEORGIA RUGBY captain Merab Sharikadze has been banned from the sport for 11 years.
Five other Georgian players involved in the same doping scandal have been handed bans ranging from nine months to six years, while a Georgian official has been suspended for nine years for her part in the episode.
The game’s governing body, World Rugby, confirmed the suspensions today.
The sanctions come after a joint investigation by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) into a case involving the substitution of urine samples and advance notice of testing.
World Rugby said that the initial operating hypothesis was that the urine sample substitutions “were conducted to conceal the use of performance-enhancing substances.”
However, World Rugby said the “extensive investigation has revealed no evidence to support this. In parallel, there was credible evidence to support the players’ assertions that the urine sample substitutions occurred to conceal the use of non-performance-enhancing substances (namely, cannabis and tramadol).”
The former players banned along with Sharikadze have been named as Giorgi Chkoidze [six years], Lasha Khmaladze [three years], Otar Lashkhi [three years], Miriani Modebadze [three years], and Lasha Lomidze [nine months].
Sharikadze, Khmaladze, and Lashkhi all featured for Georgia at the most recent World Cup in 2023, while Sharikadze and Modebadze were still playing for Georgia when they won the 2024 Rugby Europe Championship.
All six players have been banned for “use or attempted use of a prohibited method, tampering or attempted Tampering,” while Sharikadze and Khmaladze have also been sanctioned for “complicity or attempted complicity.”
Advertisement
Nutsa Shamatava, Georgia Rugby’s former chief medical officer, has been banned for nine years for “tampering or attempted tampering, complicity or attempted complicity.”
World Rugby said it also commissioned an independent enquiry into the Georgia Rugby Union (GRU) “to ensure that any potential involvement of the union in the scheme was considered and addressed.”
That review found that “there are no grounds for the Georgia Rugby Union having a case to answer,” but that the actions of a number of the GRU’s players and staff brought the game into disrepute.
That resulted in a misconduct charge against the GRU, with the union agreeing to “a sanction including financial penalty along with a requirement to implement a roadmap of various reforms and measures in its anti-doping training and education to mitigate the risk of any future issues of this nature arising.”
World Rugby said the joint investigation with WADA was launched when “irregularities in urine samples” were identified by its athlete passport management programme, covering an extended period of time before the 2023 World Cup.
WADA said that there were “five instances where sample substitution occurred” and also found that “advance notice of testing was being given to players from the Georgia national rugby union team by employees of the Georgian Anti-Doping Agency.”
The president of WADA, Witold Bańka, welcomed the hefty suspensions.
“WADA welcomes the latest work concluded by World Rugby in what is a scandal for Georgian sport,” said Bańka
“The suspensions these individuals have received are significant and send a strong message to others who may be tempted to try and cheat the system. We and our anti-doping partners will continue to defend the integrity of sport by conducting diligent investigations and prosecuting violations.”
Separately to World Rugby’s confirmation of the bans, WADA said it has been in communication with the Government of Georgia “to request that it takes the necessary steps to restore the confidence of WADA and the anti-doping community.”
WADA said that, as a result, the Government of Georgia has withdrawn its recognition of GADA and is working with WADA to establish a new national anti-doping organisation with entirely different personnel from GADA.
Ex-Georgia rugby captain Sharikadze gets 11-year ban after doping scandal
LAST UPDATE | 12 May
EX-GEORGIA RUGBY captain Merab Sharikadze has been banned from the sport for 11 years.
Five other Georgian players involved in the same doping scandal have been handed bans ranging from nine months to six years, while a Georgian official has been suspended for nine years for her part in the episode.
The game’s governing body, World Rugby, confirmed the suspensions today.
The sanctions come after a joint investigation by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) into a case involving the substitution of urine samples and advance notice of testing.
World Rugby said that the initial operating hypothesis was that the urine sample substitutions “were conducted to conceal the use of performance-enhancing substances.”
However, World Rugby said the “extensive investigation has revealed no evidence to support this. In parallel, there was credible evidence to support the players’ assertions that the urine sample substitutions occurred to conceal the use of non-performance-enhancing substances (namely, cannabis and tramadol).”
The former players banned along with Sharikadze have been named as Giorgi Chkoidze [six years], Lasha Khmaladze [three years], Otar Lashkhi [three years], Miriani Modebadze [three years], and Lasha Lomidze [nine months].
Sharikadze, Khmaladze, and Lashkhi all featured for Georgia at the most recent World Cup in 2023, while Sharikadze and Modebadze were still playing for Georgia when they won the 2024 Rugby Europe Championship.
All six players have been banned for “use or attempted use of a prohibited method, tampering or attempted Tampering,” while Sharikadze and Khmaladze have also been sanctioned for “complicity or attempted complicity.”
Nutsa Shamatava, Georgia Rugby’s former chief medical officer, has been banned for nine years for “tampering or attempted tampering, complicity or attempted complicity.”
World Rugby said it also commissioned an independent enquiry into the Georgia Rugby Union (GRU) “to ensure that any potential involvement of the union in the scheme was considered and addressed.”
That review found that “there are no grounds for the Georgia Rugby Union having a case to answer,” but that the actions of a number of the GRU’s players and staff brought the game into disrepute.
That resulted in a misconduct charge against the GRU, with the union agreeing to “a sanction including financial penalty along with a requirement to implement a roadmap of various reforms and measures in its anti-doping training and education to mitigate the risk of any future issues of this nature arising.”
World Rugby said the joint investigation with WADA was launched when “irregularities in urine samples” were identified by its athlete passport management programme, covering an extended period of time before the 2023 World Cup.
WADA said that there were “five instances where sample substitution occurred” and also found that “advance notice of testing was being given to players from the Georgia national rugby union team by employees of the Georgian Anti-Doping Agency.”
The president of WADA, Witold Bańka, welcomed the hefty suspensions.
“WADA welcomes the latest work concluded by World Rugby in what is a scandal for Georgian sport,” said Bańka
“The suspensions these individuals have received are significant and send a strong message to others who may be tempted to try and cheat the system. We and our anti-doping partners will continue to defend the integrity of sport by conducting diligent investigations and prosecuting violations.”
Separately to World Rugby’s confirmation of the bans, WADA said it has been in communication with the Government of Georgia “to request that it takes the necessary steps to restore the confidence of WADA and the anti-doping community.”
WADA said that, as a result, the Government of Georgia has withdrawn its recognition of GADA and is working with WADA to establish a new national anti-doping organisation with entirely different personnel from GADA.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Bans Merab Sharikadze Sanction none