Georgia rugby doping scandal triggers major bans including skipper and team doctor

A six-year ban was given to hooker Giorgi Chkoidze, with three-year suspensions handed to Lasha Khmaladze, Otar Lashkhi and Miriani Modebadze.

Meanwhile, a sixth player, Lasha Lomidze, was suspended for nine months. Team doctor Nutsa Shamatava also received a nine-year suspension from the game.

The six players and the medic were charged in March following a joint World Rugby and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigation that was dubbed 'Operation Obsidian'. It found examples where players allegedly swapped urine samples to avoid detection.

World Rugby flagged anomalies in samples from the Georgia team in the run-up to the 2023 World Cup, believing the urine sample swap was done to conceal the use of recreational drugs.

The urine swap would take place when the Georgian national testing authority would tip off Georgia's team doctor Shamatava about upcoming tests, information that was then shared via a team group chat.

Georgia finished bottom of their World Cup pool, drawing against Portugal and losing their other three matches, and their appearance at the finals in France has now been further sullied by the doping investigation findings.

Skipper Sharikadze, their 104-cap centre who is now an MMA fighter, played in three of the pool matches, while full-back Khmaladze and wings Modebadze and Lashkhi were also involved in the campaign.

Hooker Chkoidze dropped out just before the tournament started with an injury, while back-row Lomidze was not involved at the finals.

A World Rugby statement read: "During the course of a large-scale investigation, World Rugby's operating hypothesis was that the urine sample substitutions were conducted to conceal the use of performance-enhancing substances.

"However World Rugby's 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).

In addition to charges brought against the players and support personnel for offences under World Rugby Regulation 21, World Rugby also commissioned an independent enquiry into the actions of the Georgia Rugby Union to ensure that any potential involvement of the Union in the scheme was considered and addressed.

"While the independent report details that there are no grounds for the Georgia Rugby Union having a case to answer under World Rugby Regulation 21, the fact that a number of players and staff wilfully failed to comply with their anti-doping obligations brings the game into disrepute under regulation 18.5.

"Having considered this recommendation, World Rugby issued a misconduct charge against the Georgia Rugby Union. The Union accepted the charge and agreed 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 welcomes the Union's proactive and open approach to assisting with investigations and determining a roadmap of preventative measures."

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