Georgian national rugby league deciders postponed as referees protest abuse
Referees of the national league refused to judge games of the semifinal stage of the tournament, with the governing body holding talks to them to postpone the games by a week. Photo: Gogita Bukhaidze/via Georgia Rugby Union.
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The closing matchday and title deciders of Didi 10, Georgia's national rugby league, have been postponed after referees of the championship refused to take to the field in protest of a long-standing issue of abuse from players and teams, as the Georgia Rugby Union announced it was tackling the problem ahead of next season.
Teams of the the national championship were scheduled to head into the final games of the season on the weekend, with semifinal games to determine the Grand Final for the title now postponed by a week as referees decided to make their discontent known.
The three vice-presidents of the Georgia Rugby Union responded to the development on Sunday, recognising the issue and calling the protest "fair" but expressing "disappointment" for the postponement of the games that they said damaged the national team.
The union's Bacho Khurtsidze said the protest followed "numerous [cases of] abuse" towards the referees "not only from players but also management teams of clubs", adding there could be "no high-quality championship or game without referees".
Khurtsidze added the governing body had approved a new disciplinary code for the tournament - "in full compliance with the equivalent World Rugby paper" and aimed at tackling the problem - on May 17, but said the document was not yet in force as there had been no time to introduce it to the teams of the championship.
Tornike Gogebashvili, another vice-president of the GRU, said the union "completely shared" the protest and said the issue had "snowballed over the years". Gogebashvili added the new code would be used to "severely punish" those violating ethical norms, noting an appeals' committee would be formed before August to make sure the next Didi 10 season started with the new regulations.
Nika Alavidze, the third vice-president of the national rugby body, said the most recent cases of abuse directed towards referees had taken place after the May 17 adoption of the new document, resulting in "fair protest" from the referees. Alavidze called the physical and verbal abuse directed at the professionals serving the games a "systemic problem".
The semifinal matches of the league are now scheduled for June 5, with Batumi - the second-placed club of Didi 10's Group A - set to play third-placed Akademia, while leaders Aia will take to the field versus fourth-placed Kochebi.
World Rugby, the international governing body for the sport, has resumed its financial support for Georgia after a "positive" meeting between representatives of the global organisation and Georgia Rugby Union that clarified management-related questions after repeatedly postponed elections for the president of the local body over the last year.
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Georgia's Nika Amashukeli will make history next month by becoming the first referee from a Tier 2 rugby country to judge a game between Tier 1 teams, when he takes to the field at Principality Stadium in Cardiff for a fixture between Wales and Canada.
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