Five football players amnestied in Georgia

Zviad Sichinava, President of the Football Federation of Georgia, has amnestied five footballers earlier disqualified for organizing "fixed" matches.

On May 10, 2011, the Executive Committee of the Football Federation of Georgia issued a final decision about lifetime disqualification of five players accused of rigging matches. The footballers Giga Bechvaya (the Football Club "Vit-Georgia"), Roin Oniani and Levan Vartagava ("Baya"), Spartak Gogia and Zaza Kirtadze ("Samtredia") were deprived of the right to play for professional football clubs in Georgia.

According to today's decision made by Mr Sichinava, the footballers regain the right to resume their professional career.

"Some of these guys have dedicated most of their life to football, and some have just started their football career. This fact has even more aggravated their expulsion from the football family. That is why the president of the federation has decided and announced an unprecedented amnesty," says the statement of the Football Federation of Georgia, which is quoted by the "Georgia Online".

The corruption network in the national football championship was revealed by the Department of Constitutional Security of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) on May 2, 2011. Three "sold-out" matches were disclosed.

According to investigators, the illegal agreements included almost the entire course of the match – the score, the behaviour of players on the pitch, the course of the match, the number of outs, corners and violations. The result of the match of the FC "Samtredia" with "Sioni" (Bolnisi) was sold for 15,000 laris (1 Georgian lari = 0.6 US dollars), of the Tbilisi "Dinamo" with "Baya" – for over 12,000 laris, and of the "VIT-Georgia" with "Sioni"- for 20,000 laris, the "News Georgia" reports.