Major doping probe nets six Georgia internationals
NEWS: World Rugby has confirmed that six Georgia internationals and a member of the team’s support staff have breached doping regulations.
The charges relate to recreational drugs, which carry severe penalties under Georgian law. The violations also include an alleged organised attempt to bypass drug-testing controls and substitute urine samples.
Georgia were eliminated in the pool stages of the 2023 Rugby World Cup and there is no suggestion that the tournament was compromised.
The investigation began after World Rugby’s athlete passport management programme detected irregularities in urine samples. It is understood that historical DNA from stored player samples was used to identify those involved as part of a joint probe by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
In a statement, World Rugby said: “World Rugby can confirm that a major joint investigation conducted with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has resulted in anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) being confirmed against six players and one member of the support staff from the Georgia men’s senior national team, following a public update issued by WADA today.”
“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 Men’s Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. World Rugby alerted WADA immediately and the two bodies worked closely together throughout complex and extensive parallel investigations which featured targeted player testing and DNA analysis by World Rugby, including on historical samples held via World Rugby’s long-term storage programme.
“Six players and a member of team support personnel have been charged and sanctioned in relation to an orchestrated scheme involving recreational drugs and sample substitution (a practice prohibited by the WADA Code and the World Rugby Anti-Doping Rules).
WADA President, Witold Bańka, said: “What has been happening in Georgian rugby is outrageous and will send shockwaves through Georgian sport and government, as well as the global game of rugby. I want to thank WADA’s independent Intelligence & Investigations team for their diligence and expertise in relentlessly pursuing this operation with determination and professionalism. I also praise World Rugby’s commitment to uncovering the facts and its willingness to work collaboratively with WADA to deliver this strong result for rugby.
“This is not the end of the story, as further investigation is now going on deeper into Georgian sport. WADA has brought Operation Obsidian’s findings to the attention of the Government of Georgia to address the issues in the Georgian Anti-Doping Agency. As the next steps are being considered, clearly, WADA has lost confidence in GADA’s anti-doping program and wholesale changes must now be made by the relevant authorities.”
