Ex-Georgia captain cops 11-year ban after huge doping scandal
Former Georgia national rugby team captain Merab Sharikadze has been banned from all sports for 11 years for the role he played in a huge doping scandal that’s rocked the country.
Sharikadze was capped over 100 times for this country after making his debut in 2012 and captained the team at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
The 32-year-old has since changed sports completely, becoming an MMA fighter in 2025. However, he’s now been banned from all sports as a result of an investigation by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency into a number of illegal tests in Georgian rugby.
The investigation, called Operation Obsidian, was launched a year before the 2023 World Cup in France, around the same time as Georgia’s famous win over Wales and at the height of their clamouring to be part of the Six Nations.
Sharikadze received the longest ban at 11 years as he was found to have supplied his clean urine to help teammates pass tests.
World Rugby, who worked in conjunction with WADA, was first alerted when irregularities in urine samples were identified by its athlete passport management programme.
While initially working off the basis that the urine sample substitutions were to mask performance-enhancing substances, evidence was found to support the players' claims that the tampering was intended to conceal the use of cannabis and tramadol, a prescription opioid pain medication.
Former Georgia chief medical officer Dr Nutsa Shamatava has been handed the second-longest ban of 9 years after she was found to have warned players and staff of when tests would be taking place.
Five more players have also received bans, ranging from nine months to six years, for their part in the scandal. Giorgi Chkoidze (six years), Lasha Khmaladze (three years), Mirian Modebadze (three years), Otar Lashkhi (three years) and Lasha Lomidze (nine months) are prohibited from taking part in any rugby activities.
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.
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin spoke about how this case shows the necessity of anti-doping programmes.
“This case demonstrates the importance of operating a robust, science-led anti-doping programme with coordinated biological profile analysis, testing and long-term storage functions.
“Our extensive four-year investigation has helped identify subversion of the doping control process and sends a clear message that World Rugby takes all anti-doping matters extremely seriously and is an unwavering champion of clean sport.”
– extra.ie / ESPN.com
