Georgian basketball team captain Shengelia: "no justification necessary" for move to Moscow club

Georgian national basketball team captain Tornike Shengelia has responded to a controversy regarding his move to CSKA Moscow by insisting there is "no justification necessary" for the decision.

The 28-year-old forward, who signed the contract with the team after winning the Spanish top-flight championship earlier this month, responded to comments in Georgia questioning his move to the Russian club in an interview for Rustavi 2 channel.

Shengelia told the TV channel his move to the Moscow club did not change his attitude "towards my people [and] my homeland" and expressed hope Georgian citizens would also stay loyal to him.

There is no justification necessary [for the move], because I am going there to play basketball [...] Circumstances don't determine who I am. I am Tornike Shengelia [and I bring] the Georgian spirit to Spain, the United States, Russia [and] wherever else I go," the Spanish champion said in the interview.

The response followed reactions among some fans in Georgia who criticised the move on the backdrop of the ongoing occupation of a part of Georgian territory by the Russian military. It also drew a reaction from the President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili, who on Thursday said it was "regrettable" and "unacceptable" that the captain of the Georgian team had decided to move to the club.

CSKA Moscow was founded in 1923 as the first sporting department of the Soviet Red Army. The club adopted its current, unabbreviated name - Central Sports Club of the Army - in 1960. The club have won 26 Russian championships and also compete in the EuroLeague continent-wide tournament.

Shengelia signed the three-year deal with the Russian club after his championship-winning performance in the final of Spain's Liga Endesa earlier this month. The Georgian forward led his club Baskonia to a 69-67 win over Barça.