Former Georgia rugby captain Merab Sharikadze has been given an 11-year ban for his involvement in an “orchestrated scheme involving recreational drugs and sample substitution”.
Six internationals were charged in March following a joint investigation by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) dubbed “Operation Obsidian”, which found five instances where players allegedly swapped urine samples to avoid detection. Employees of Georgia's national anti-doping agency also tipped off players about upcoming tests, Wada said.
Sanctions have now been levied against the players involved and team doctor Nutsa Shamatava, who has received a nine-year suspension from the game.
Sharikadze, who won 104 caps and led Georgia at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, received the longest ban of the players. The 32-year-old spent time at Hartpury College near Gloucester as a teenager.
Giorgi Chkoidze (six years), Lasha Khmaladze (three years), Otar Lashkhi (three years), Miriani Modebadze (three years) and Lasha Lomidze (nine months) are the other Georgia internationals to be banned.
"The investigation was triggered when irregularities in urine samples were identified by World Rugby's athlete passport management programme, covering an extended period of time prior to the men's Rugby World Cup 2023 in France," World Rugby said.
The governing body also suggested that its investigation had indicated that the sample substitution had been to conceal the use of cannabis and tramadol, rather than performance-enhancing substances.
Georgia finished bottom of their pool at the 2023 Rugby World Cup without a victory.
The Georgia Rugby Union has also been hit with a misconduct charge for bringing the game into disrepute after a number of players and staff “wilfully failed to comply with their anti-doping obligations”. The charge was accepted and the union has agreed to a financial sanction and must implement anti-doping reforms.
