World Rugby has handed down an 11-year ban to former Georgia captain Merab Sharikadze for orchestrated doping offences.
Former Georgia chief medical officer Nutsa Shamatava was also banned from rugby for nine years.
The sanctions were announced by World Rugby after a joint investigation with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) uncovered what was described as an “orchestrated scheme involving recreational drugs and sample substitution”.
Dubbed “Operation Obsidian”, the investigation began in 2023 and uncovered five alleged cases in which players swapped urine samples to avoid detection during anti-doping testing.
Sharikadze, who won 105 Test caps for Georgia and captained the side to a famous victory over Wales in Cardiff in 2022, received the heaviest sanction of all those implicated.
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According to World Rugby, players were allegedly tipped off about upcoming drug tests by Georgian anti-doping authorities.
The former centre, now competing as an MMA fighter, is one of six Georgian players sanctioned, with bans ranging from 11 years to nine months.
The scandal comes at a difficult time for Georgian rugby, with the country preparing to host this year’s Junior World Championship which takes place from 27 June to 18 July.
The Junior Springboks will be out to defend the title they won a year ago.
Georgia has emerged as one of the fastest-growing rugby nations in recent years, regularly challenging tier-one opposition.
A number of Georgian stars play for top clubs across Europe, including the likes of Davit Niniashvili at Lyon and Beka Gigashvili for Toulon.
There has also been talk of a Georgian team, Black Lion, being admitted to the URC.
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