SCENES OF unabashed joy greeted Georgia’s first-ever qualification for the European Championships earlier this year.
On 26 March, the improbable penalty shootout win over Greece in Tbilisi, achieved despite the hosts being reduced to 10 men on the brink of half-time, created a rare moment of unity for a politically divided country.
It was the most famous footballing result in the history of Georgia — a country of 3.7 million people that gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Fans took to the streets to celebrate while a video of the players dancing in the dressing room went viral.
“I hadn’t seen that kind of sports euphoria in Georgia,” says Joshua Kucera, an American-born journalist living in Tbilisi, who has covered the former Soviet Union for more than 15 years, writing for publications including Slate, The New York Times, and The Atlantic.
“It was something everyone was talking about. And talking about it just put everybody in a good mood.”
Yet this uncomplicated sense of national pride and happiness did not last long.
Barely a week after the Greek victory captured the nation’s hearts, the latest political drama took attention away from football.
A controversial ‘foreign agent’ bill on nongovernmental organisations and media was reintroduced and eventually passed — despite substantial protests — and comes into effect this summer.
The bill (which Kucera has written about in detail here) was introduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party who have been in power for 12 years.
It requires any media outlet or NGO that gets more than 20% of its funding abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence”.
Opponents perceive the bill as stepping away from Western values and attempting to stifle critical voices. It has even been derisively referred to as the ‘Russian Law,’ while it also has drawn condemnation from US and EU leaders.
The timing of this move was curious — so soon after the Euros qualification and before the upcoming elections on 26 October as the Georgian Dream party will be seeking a fourth term in power.
Kucera says there are different interpretations of why it was initiated at that moment.
“One theory is that: ‘Okay, we’ll do this, we’ll get everybody angry.’ And then in June, it’ll calm down, and then everyone will pay attention to soccer, and they’ll be happy again and forget about this law, which may be the case.
“There’s a thought that any serious drama will be put off until [autumn]. And so the protest mood has died out quite a bit. The stage is set for people to pay attention to soccer again.”
Kucera continues: “The other mode of thinking was: ‘Why do this? People are going to be in a good mood, the thinking about this law is that they needed it to divide society because this is how the ruling party benefits — by creating division and this us-and-them narrative.
“But I guess it’s a truism in politics, that people who think the country is going well vote for the incumbents. And this soccer [success] was one of the things that had gone well for Georgia in recent years.”
Georgia players and fans celebrate the win over Greece. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
One of the topics that has dominated political discourse in Georgia is the European Union and whether the country will become a member anytime soon.
Last December, Georgia was one of nine countries (along with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine) whose EU candidate status was confirmed.
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Opponents of the bill tend to be pro-EU and recent protests have led to scenes of police crackdowns involving tear gas, water cannons, and stun guns.
This violence has prompted criticism from some members of the Georgian squad.
“It’s difficult for me to see how they are confronting my compatriots, especially women and children,” Watford midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze wrote on Instagram. “Nothing is worth more than our people, no law is more important than them. Rescind this law, and we will again live together like we did on March 26! No to Russia and full speed ahead to Europe!”
Yet not every Georgian squad member was as outspoken as Chakvetadze, nor have they explicitly expressed disapproval for the foreign agent law.
In response to the tensions, many squad members released a less controversial statement with identical wording: “Georgia’s path and future is in Europe.”
This ambiguous message could be interpreted in two ways — opponents say the government are taking steps away from Europe while the ruling party deny this claim.
Speculation that the ruling party coordinated the players’ statement is “plausible,” according to Kucera.
Levan Kobiashvili, who won 100 caps for Georgia as a player, is the President of the Georgian Football Federation and a member of parliament.
Last month, he claimed leaders of the domestic opposition were placing “incredible pressure” on national football team players as the controversy surrounding the foreign agent law intensified.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine is a key component driving the political tensions in Georgia.
The vast majority of Georgians are sympathetic to Ukraine’s plight, but the violence has also served as a reminder of their vulnerability.
In 2008, Russia invaded Georgia in what was regarded as the first European war of the 21st century. It lasted 16 days before a ceasefire was agreed but meant diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed.
The war in Ukraine consequently increased tensions in Georgia and fears of what could happen.
“Georgia is much weaker than Ukraine,” says Kucera. “[There are concerns] that if Russia beat Ukraine, Russia might feel confident it could take on Georgia again, or if Russia lost in Ukraine, Georgia would be an easy consolation prize.
“So there was a lot of fear about what this meant for Georgia. And the ruling party’s approach to the war has been very hands-off. And even, I would say, anti-Ukraine. There are multiple reasons for this. Some of them are internal, domestic political reasons why they have a specific beef with the Ukrainian government.
“But also, their hands-off approach has to do with this fear that: ‘We don’t want to attract Russia’s attention at this moment.’ And the ruling party has had this narrative for a long time that the old government, under Mikheil Saakashvili, who was president until 2013, brought us war, and we’re going to [maintain] peace.
“And now they think they can win internal political support by saying: ‘We are going to sit out of this, the opposition wants war.’ They say ‘Tbilisi could look like Mariupol if the opposition is in power.’”
Giorgi Kochorashvili is considered one of the more outspoken members of the Georgia squad. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
So is there any chance of a protest at the Euros being instigated by Georgian fans?
The invariably strict rules about bringing political signs or banners into stadiums mean supporters won’t easily be able to make their voices heard.
Kucera adds: “There is debate about: ‘Okay, what can we say?’ And I think people were saying that something like ‘we will win’ can be applied to both soccer and politics.
“And that probably would be allowed, and people would understand what it meant.”
And what about the players themselves?
Kucera highlights Levante midfielder Giorgi Kochorashvili — considered an important player and scorer of the first penalty against Greece — as “one to watch”.
On 9 April, Kochorashvili posted a photo on Instagram of his niece at a rally against the foreign agent bill, which was interpreted as a criticism of the ruling party.
Former Georgia and AC Milan star Kakha Kaladze — a longstanding member of the Georgian Dream party who is now mayor of Tbilisi — was among those effectively attacking Kochorashvili in response, suggesting his father was a member of an opposition political party.
Anti-government activists, by contrast, urged people to show their support for Kochorashvili.
Subsequently, more Georgian players spoke out. “No to Russia, Georgia’s way is in Europe,” Karlsruher SC striker Budu Zivzivadze wrote on Instagram with an accompanying photo of two boys draped in a Georgian flag and EU flag, facing up against police forces. “No one should thank me because I am saying what every Georgian should be saying,” he added.
Zivzavadze was in the spotlight again earlier this month, expressing support for the protests and criticising the police on a podcast. After the comments gained traction and were picked up by opposition media, the player asked for them to be taken down, explaining that he didn’t want to cause controversy before the tournament.
Slovan Bratislava midfielder and 101-times-capped international Jaba Kankava, who was originally called up to the Euros squad before withdrawing and saying he would travel as a fan only, last April posted a photo of the Georgian and EU flags coupled with the caption ‘Russian SSR’ and a shit emoji.
Even some players who have been more conservative and perceived to be closer to the ruling party have not escaped controversy.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is considered Georgia's star player. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Napoli attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, widely regarded as Georgia’s best player and nicknamed ‘Kvaradona after he last year inspired the Serie A club to their first title triumph since the 1990 heyday of the Argentine icon Diego Maradona, falls into this category.
Yet Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former Georgia and Man City footballer, who has since gone into politics and is considered an ally of the ruling party, hit out at Kvaratskhelia. The latter criticised a version of the foreign agent bill that the government tried unsuccessfully to introduce last year when it was met with heavy protests.
“Kvara, your statement was used by the opposition and that’s how the civil war started in the ’90s,” Kavelashvili said. “When a Georgian confronts a Georgian with your statement, the responsibility is on you.”
“That statement was a little bit out of nowhere,” adds Kucera. “In general, his comments, along with these other people who are saying the same thing, most pro-government media picked them up as saying: ‘They’re on our side, they want Europe, we want Europe.’”
Kucera believes the opinions of Kvaratskhelia and other high-profile Georgian athletes can genuinely influence the country’s future.
“I think that the average low-information voter, as we would say in America, doesn’t pay much attention to these things. But then when Kochorashvili says something, they perk up their ears and say: ‘Okay, well, maybe he knows what he’s talking about.’ Or if he’s talking about it, then ‘maybe it’s important’. I know that the protest organisers think that that’s the case, and there was a lot of football imagery at the protests.
“I just talked to one of the protest organisers, they’re going to have watch parties showing solidarity for their side. So they’re still going to try to capitalise on this activism by the soccer players.”
Willy Sagnol’s men are considered rank outsiders in the competition and whether the team exceeding people’s modest expectations would be better for the ruling party or their opponents is debatable.
Bidzina Ivanishvili — the founder and honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream — has promised the team 30 million laris (around €9.7 million) if they make it out of the group stages.
“I’m sure it would help the ruling party,” says Kucera. “They tried to take advantage of the [playoff] victory for political purposes.
“That said, I think the opposition could also [benefit]. If they did well, and then if, for example, Kochorashvili or some of the other outspoken ones kept speaking out, that would also help their side.”
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The team least likely to win the Euros and the extreme politics they can't escape from
SCENES OF unabashed joy greeted Georgia’s first-ever qualification for the European Championships earlier this year.
On 26 March, the improbable penalty shootout win over Greece in Tbilisi, achieved despite the hosts being reduced to 10 men on the brink of half-time, created a rare moment of unity for a politically divided country.
It was the most famous footballing result in the history of Georgia — a country of 3.7 million people that gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Fans took to the streets to celebrate while a video of the players dancing in the dressing room went viral.
“I hadn’t seen that kind of sports euphoria in Georgia,” says Joshua Kucera, an American-born journalist living in Tbilisi, who has covered the former Soviet Union for more than 15 years, writing for publications including Slate, The New York Times, and The Atlantic.
“It was something everyone was talking about. And talking about it just put everybody in a good mood.”
Yet this uncomplicated sense of national pride and happiness did not last long.
Barely a week after the Greek victory captured the nation’s hearts, the latest political drama took attention away from football.
A controversial ‘foreign agent’ bill on nongovernmental organisations and media was reintroduced and eventually passed — despite substantial protests — and comes into effect this summer.
The bill (which Kucera has written about in detail here) was introduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party who have been in power for 12 years.
It requires any media outlet or NGO that gets more than 20% of its funding abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence”.
Opponents perceive the bill as stepping away from Western values and attempting to stifle critical voices. It has even been derisively referred to as the ‘Russian Law,’ while it also has drawn condemnation from US and EU leaders.
The timing of this move was curious — so soon after the Euros qualification and before the upcoming elections on 26 October as the Georgian Dream party will be seeking a fourth term in power.
Kucera says there are different interpretations of why it was initiated at that moment.
“One theory is that: ‘Okay, we’ll do this, we’ll get everybody angry.’ And then in June, it’ll calm down, and then everyone will pay attention to soccer, and they’ll be happy again and forget about this law, which may be the case.
“There’s a thought that any serious drama will be put off until [autumn]. And so the protest mood has died out quite a bit. The stage is set for people to pay attention to soccer again.”
Kucera continues: “The other mode of thinking was: ‘Why do this? People are going to be in a good mood, the thinking about this law is that they needed it to divide society because this is how the ruling party benefits — by creating division and this us-and-them narrative.
“But I guess it’s a truism in politics, that people who think the country is going well vote for the incumbents. And this soccer [success] was one of the things that had gone well for Georgia in recent years.”
One of the topics that has dominated political discourse in Georgia is the European Union and whether the country will become a member anytime soon.
Last December, Georgia was one of nine countries (along with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine) whose EU candidate status was confirmed.
Opponents of the bill tend to be pro-EU and recent protests have led to scenes of police crackdowns involving tear gas, water cannons, and stun guns.
This violence has prompted criticism from some members of the Georgian squad.
“It’s difficult for me to see how they are confronting my compatriots, especially women and children,” Watford midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze wrote on Instagram. “Nothing is worth more than our people, no law is more important than them. Rescind this law, and we will again live together like we did on March 26! No to Russia and full speed ahead to Europe!”
Yet not every Georgian squad member was as outspoken as Chakvetadze, nor have they explicitly expressed disapproval for the foreign agent law.
In response to the tensions, many squad members released a less controversial statement with identical wording: “Georgia’s path and future is in Europe.”
This ambiguous message could be interpreted in two ways — opponents say the government are taking steps away from Europe while the ruling party deny this claim.
Speculation that the ruling party coordinated the players’ statement is “plausible,” according to Kucera.
Levan Kobiashvili, who won 100 caps for Georgia as a player, is the President of the Georgian Football Federation and a member of parliament.
Last month, he claimed leaders of the domestic opposition were placing “incredible pressure” on national football team players as the controversy surrounding the foreign agent law intensified.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine is a key component driving the political tensions in Georgia.
The vast majority of Georgians are sympathetic to Ukraine’s plight, but the violence has also served as a reminder of their vulnerability.
In 2008, Russia invaded Georgia in what was regarded as the first European war of the 21st century. It lasted 16 days before a ceasefire was agreed but meant diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed.
The war in Ukraine consequently increased tensions in Georgia and fears of what could happen.
“Georgia is much weaker than Ukraine,” says Kucera. “[There are concerns] that if Russia beat Ukraine, Russia might feel confident it could take on Georgia again, or if Russia lost in Ukraine, Georgia would be an easy consolation prize.
“So there was a lot of fear about what this meant for Georgia. And the ruling party’s approach to the war has been very hands-off. And even, I would say, anti-Ukraine. There are multiple reasons for this. Some of them are internal, domestic political reasons why they have a specific beef with the Ukrainian government.
“But also, their hands-off approach has to do with this fear that: ‘We don’t want to attract Russia’s attention at this moment.’ And the ruling party has had this narrative for a long time that the old government, under Mikheil Saakashvili, who was president until 2013, brought us war, and we’re going to [maintain] peace.
“And now they think they can win internal political support by saying: ‘We are going to sit out of this, the opposition wants war.’ They say ‘Tbilisi could look like Mariupol if the opposition is in power.’”
So is there any chance of a protest at the Euros being instigated by Georgian fans?
The invariably strict rules about bringing political signs or banners into stadiums mean supporters won’t easily be able to make their voices heard.
Kucera adds: “There is debate about: ‘Okay, what can we say?’ And I think people were saying that something like ‘we will win’ can be applied to both soccer and politics.
“And that probably would be allowed, and people would understand what it meant.”
And what about the players themselves?
Kucera highlights Levante midfielder Giorgi Kochorashvili — considered an important player and scorer of the first penalty against Greece — as “one to watch”.
On 9 April, Kochorashvili posted a photo on Instagram of his niece at a rally against the foreign agent bill, which was interpreted as a criticism of the ruling party.
Former Georgia and AC Milan star Kakha Kaladze — a longstanding member of the Georgian Dream party who is now mayor of Tbilisi — was among those effectively attacking Kochorashvili in response, suggesting his father was a member of an opposition political party.
Anti-government activists, by contrast, urged people to show their support for Kochorashvili.
Subsequently, more Georgian players spoke out. “No to Russia, Georgia’s way is in Europe,” Karlsruher SC striker Budu Zivzivadze wrote on Instagram with an accompanying photo of two boys draped in a Georgian flag and EU flag, facing up against police forces. “No one should thank me because I am saying what every Georgian should be saying,” he added.
Zivzavadze was in the spotlight again earlier this month, expressing support for the protests and criticising the police on a podcast. After the comments gained traction and were picked up by opposition media, the player asked for them to be taken down, explaining that he didn’t want to cause controversy before the tournament.
Slovan Bratislava midfielder and 101-times-capped international Jaba Kankava, who was originally called up to the Euros squad before withdrawing and saying he would travel as a fan only, last April posted a photo of the Georgian and EU flags coupled with the caption ‘Russian SSR’ and a shit emoji.
Even some players who have been more conservative and perceived to be closer to the ruling party have not escaped controversy.
Napoli attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, widely regarded as Georgia’s best player and nicknamed ‘Kvaradona after he last year inspired the Serie A club to their first title triumph since the 1990 heyday of the Argentine icon Diego Maradona, falls into this category.
Yet Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former Georgia and Man City footballer, who has since gone into politics and is considered an ally of the ruling party, hit out at Kvaratskhelia. The latter criticised a version of the foreign agent bill that the government tried unsuccessfully to introduce last year when it was met with heavy protests.
“Kvara, your statement was used by the opposition and that’s how the civil war started in the ’90s,” Kavelashvili said. “When a Georgian confronts a Georgian with your statement, the responsibility is on you.”
“That statement was a little bit out of nowhere,” adds Kucera. “In general, his comments, along with these other people who are saying the same thing, most pro-government media picked them up as saying: ‘They’re on our side, they want Europe, we want Europe.’”
Kucera believes the opinions of Kvaratskhelia and other high-profile Georgian athletes can genuinely influence the country’s future.
“I think that the average low-information voter, as we would say in America, doesn’t pay much attention to these things. But then when Kochorashvili says something, they perk up their ears and say: ‘Okay, well, maybe he knows what he’s talking about.’ Or if he’s talking about it, then ‘maybe it’s important’. I know that the protest organisers think that that’s the case, and there was a lot of football imagery at the protests.
“I just talked to one of the protest organisers, they’re going to have watch parties showing solidarity for their side. So they’re still going to try to capitalise on this activism by the soccer players.”
Willy Sagnol’s men are considered rank outsiders in the competition and whether the team exceeding people’s modest expectations would be better for the ruling party or their opponents is debatable.
Bidzina Ivanishvili — the founder and honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream — has promised the team 30 million laris (around €9.7 million) if they make it out of the group stages.
“I’m sure it would help the ruling party,” says Kucera. “They tried to take advantage of the [playoff] victory for political purposes.
“That said, I think the opposition could also [benefit]. If they did well, and then if, for example, Kochorashvili or some of the other outspoken ones kept speaking out, that would also help their side.”
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