Georgia Ex-Captain Banned 11 Years for Urine-Swap Anti-Doping Scheme
World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency said the case uncovered five alleged sample swaps and bans for six former Georgian internationals.
- On Tuesday, World Rugby handed an 11-year ban to former Georgia captain Merab Sharikadze for his role in an "orchestrated scheme involving recreational drugs and sample substitution."
- Dubbed "Operation Obsidian," a joint investigation by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency launched in 2023 and found five instances where players allegedly swapped urine samples to avoid detection.
- Team doctor Nutsa Shamatava received a nine-year suspension for organizing sample substitution and "providing advance notice of upcoming out-of-competition doping controls" to at least 26 players; DNA analysis confirmed Sharikadze provided samples for teammates.
- The Georgia Rugby Union accepted a misconduct charge and financial penalty, while WADA President Witold Banka warned the findings will "send shockwaves through Georgian sport and government."
- Investigations revealed no evidence of performance-enhancing substances; findings suggested substitutions concealed cannabis and tramadol use, prompting WADA to declare "wholesale changes must now be made" to the Georgian Anti-Doping Agency .
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After the most comprehensive anti-doping investigation in history, World Rugby hit hard: by punishing six Georgian players, their doctor and the national federation with sentences of up to 11 years of exclusion....
Associated Press News
Rugby doping scandal sees six Georgia players get long bans, including one for 11 years
Six players from Georgia’s rugby team have been handed long bans, including one for 11 years, for their involvement in a urine-swapping scheme to cheat anti-doping tests in one of the sport’s biggest corruption scandals.
Six players from World Cup rugby team hit with doping sanction
In bombshell news that came to light on Tuesday, World Rugby confirmed six members of the Georgia senior men’s 15s team and a member of support personnel have been sanctioned for involvement in urine sample substitution over an extended period prior to Men’s Rugby World Cup 2023. Georgia are currently ranked 13th in the World Rugby rankings, and were one of the 24 teams to have qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. The Lelos secur…
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