Six Georgian rugby players and the national team's former doctor have received lengthy suspensions following an investigation into a doping scandal involving urine swapping and advance notice of testing. The bans, totalling nearly 36 years collectively, stem from a joint inquiry by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Former captain Merab Sharikadze has been handed the most severe penalty, an 11-year ban, for his alleged role in the scheme. Hooker Giorgi Chkoidze is suspended for six years, while Lasha Khmaladze, Otar Lashkhi, and Miriani Modebadze each received three-year bans. Lasha Lomidze faces a nine-month suspension.
The investigation found that players "engaged in swapping of urine samples to avoid the risk of testing positive for substances that they believed were prohibited." Crucially, the former men's first team doctor, Nutsa Shamatava, provided advance notice of out-of-competition doping controls to players via group chats. Shamatava herself has been banned for nine years for her involvement. While the governing body’s hypothesis of performance-enhancing purposes was not proven, credible evidence suggested the scheme was used to conceal the use of substances like cannabis and tramadol.
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The scandal comes to light following a four-year investigation, with some sanctions backdated to include provisional suspensions, making players like Modebadze, Lomidze, Khmaladze, and Lashkhi eligible for the 2027 World Cup. Georgia's national anti-doping agency, GADA, is also implicated, with allegations that its employees tipped off players about upcoming tests. The Georgian team finished bottom of their pool in the 2023 World Cup. Sharikadze, who has over 100 caps and famously captained Georgia to a victory against Wales in 2022, is reportedly pursuing a career in mixed martial arts.
