A former international captain was banned for 11 years after players “swapped urine samples,” shocking the rugby world

As part of the harsh penalties imposed by World Rugby, former Georgian rugby captain Merab Sharikadze was banned for 11 years due to the doping controversy.
World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) conducted a combined investigation that uncovered a plot including purported sample swapping and drug test advance warnings.
The 2023 probe, known as “Operation Obsidian,” discovered five cases in which players reportedly switched urine samples to evade detection.
Sharikadze was given the longest ban when the penalties were announced on Tuesday.
Nutsa Shamatava, the former top medical officer of Georgia, has also received a nine-year rugby ban.
Merab Sharikadze of Georgia has been banned for 11 years under “Operation Obsidian.” Following a protracted investigation, World Rugby, the organization that oversees the sport, accused Georgia of operating “an orchestrated scheme involving recreational drugs and sample substitution” in March.”
They claimed that the Georgian anti-doping authorities were informing players about impending drug testing. In 2022, Sharikadze led Georgia to a historic victory over Wales in Cardiff, earning him 105 caps.
He is currently an MMA wrestler and one of six Georgian athletes who have been banned, with sentences ranging from nine months to eleven years.
There will be more to come.