The News in Brief
Wednesday, September 21
Supreme Court Picks New Judge for Constitutional Court
On September 20, the Supreme Court elected Temur Tugushi as a new member of the Constitutional Court.
Tugushi, who was nominated by Supreme Court chairperson Nino Gvenetadze, has served as the head of the Constitutional Court’s legal and research department for the past five years.
The President, Parliament and the Supreme Court each appoint three members of the 9-seat Constitutional Court for a 10-year term.
Tugushi will replace Otar Sichinava, whose 10-year term expires at the end of this month.
President Giorgi Margvelashvili has appointed Irina Imerlishvili, secretary of the National Security Council, and Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze, former parliamentary secretary of the President, as new judges of the Constitutional Court; they will replace Chairman of the Constitutional Court Giorgi Papuashvili and his deputy Konstantine Vardzelashvili, whose 10-year term in office will expire on September 30.
One more seat will also become vacant in the Constitutional Court by the end of this month, when Ketevan Eremadze’s 10-year term expires; this upcoming vacancy should be filled by a new judge elected by Parliament.
But the outgoing Parliament is not expected to gather for a session again, so it will be up to the next legislative body - which should be elected in the October 8 elections - to fill one vacancy in the Constitutional Court. (Civil.ge)
New Season, Same Old Match-Fixing Story in Georgian Football
It took just four weeks into the new season for new match fixing to appear in Georgian football. According to a UEFA Betting Fraud Detection System report, which was sent to the Georgian Football Federation (GFF), the result of a September 8 match between Merani Martvili and Rustavi was manipulated. According to the UEFA report, an unusual number of bets were placed during the match for Merani to win and for more than 2.5 goals to be scored. Merani was a 2-1 winner in the match.
The GFF Division of Sport Fairness sent the case to the Disciplinary Committee, which discussed it on September 15. The decision was taken in accordance with the disciplinary code:
The result of the match was canceled and both teams were awarded a 0-3 loss.
Six points were deducted from both teams
Both teams were fined 10,000 lari (about $US 4,350)
This is the sixth case of alleged match fixing in Georgian football since April of 2014.
The Division of Sport Fairness is conducting an internal investigation. The tape of the match will be studied and if new evidence appears or guilt is established, the Disciplinary Committee will meet to discuss the case again. Documents and information will be sent to Ministry of Internal Affairs, which will also conduct an investigation.
“This is very sensitive issue which damages the image of Georgian Football, not only here, but abroad. I want everybody to know that such actions will be punished severely. The time when such cases were put on shelves is over,” said Davit Mujiri, the GFF Secretary General.
Representative of both clubs consider the GFF decision unfair and insist they are not guilty.
“They will have to apologize for the statement of Mr. Mujiri. How can they say such things when they do not have any kind of evidence?” says the president of “Merani” president Eldar Bakuria.
The GFF will ask the governmental Georgian Football Development Fund to cut financial support for both teams until the investigations are over.
“They say the Fund should cut financial support…as far as I know, these are two different organizations. The Georgian Football Development Fund is a state institution. The investigation can go for a long time and yes, I am going to argue this, because it is really hard to prove what has never happened,” says Rustavi president Badri Matchavariani.
Rustavi head coach Varlam Kilasonia said he was shocked by the GFF decision: “I can watch any match and declare it fixed without any evidence. They have so many cases on their shelves and nobody knows when the decisions will be taken.” (DF watch)
President condemns opening of polling stations in Georgia’s breakaway regions by Russia
As the Georgian President’s Press Speaker Eka Mishveladze has declared today, the President thinks it is unacceptable that the Russian Federation has registered more than 114,000 people living in Georgia’s breakaway regions as voters in different parts of Russia.
Georgia’s Presidential Administration has commended on the Duma elections after polling stations were also opened in Georgia’s breakaway regions.
“The population of the occupied territories has participated in the elections of a foreign country. This is perceived as a step towards annexation of the territories. The President thinks it is unacceptable to register the breakaway regions residents as voters in the Russian Federation,” Eka Mishveladze remarked.
According to her, this constitutes a violation of international law.
The President himself condemned the step and called on the international community to condemn Moscow's policies. (IPN)
On September 20, the Supreme Court elected Temur Tugushi as a new member of the Constitutional Court.
Tugushi, who was nominated by Supreme Court chairperson Nino Gvenetadze, has served as the head of the Constitutional Court’s legal and research department for the past five years.
The President, Parliament and the Supreme Court each appoint three members of the 9-seat Constitutional Court for a 10-year term.
Tugushi will replace Otar Sichinava, whose 10-year term expires at the end of this month.
President Giorgi Margvelashvili has appointed Irina Imerlishvili, secretary of the National Security Council, and Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze, former parliamentary secretary of the President, as new judges of the Constitutional Court; they will replace Chairman of the Constitutional Court Giorgi Papuashvili and his deputy Konstantine Vardzelashvili, whose 10-year term in office will expire on September 30.
One more seat will also become vacant in the Constitutional Court by the end of this month, when Ketevan Eremadze’s 10-year term expires; this upcoming vacancy should be filled by a new judge elected by Parliament.
But the outgoing Parliament is not expected to gather for a session again, so it will be up to the next legislative body - which should be elected in the October 8 elections - to fill one vacancy in the Constitutional Court. (Civil.ge)
New Season, Same Old Match-Fixing Story in Georgian Football
It took just four weeks into the new season for new match fixing to appear in Georgian football. According to a UEFA Betting Fraud Detection System report, which was sent to the Georgian Football Federation (GFF), the result of a September 8 match between Merani Martvili and Rustavi was manipulated. According to the UEFA report, an unusual number of bets were placed during the match for Merani to win and for more than 2.5 goals to be scored. Merani was a 2-1 winner in the match.
The GFF Division of Sport Fairness sent the case to the Disciplinary Committee, which discussed it on September 15. The decision was taken in accordance with the disciplinary code:
The result of the match was canceled and both teams were awarded a 0-3 loss.
Six points were deducted from both teams
Both teams were fined 10,000 lari (about $US 4,350)
This is the sixth case of alleged match fixing in Georgian football since April of 2014.
The Division of Sport Fairness is conducting an internal investigation. The tape of the match will be studied and if new evidence appears or guilt is established, the Disciplinary Committee will meet to discuss the case again. Documents and information will be sent to Ministry of Internal Affairs, which will also conduct an investigation.
“This is very sensitive issue which damages the image of Georgian Football, not only here, but abroad. I want everybody to know that such actions will be punished severely. The time when such cases were put on shelves is over,” said Davit Mujiri, the GFF Secretary General.
Representative of both clubs consider the GFF decision unfair and insist they are not guilty.
“They will have to apologize for the statement of Mr. Mujiri. How can they say such things when they do not have any kind of evidence?” says the president of “Merani” president Eldar Bakuria.
The GFF will ask the governmental Georgian Football Development Fund to cut financial support for both teams until the investigations are over.
“They say the Fund should cut financial support…as far as I know, these are two different organizations. The Georgian Football Development Fund is a state institution. The investigation can go for a long time and yes, I am going to argue this, because it is really hard to prove what has never happened,” says Rustavi president Badri Matchavariani.
Rustavi head coach Varlam Kilasonia said he was shocked by the GFF decision: “I can watch any match and declare it fixed without any evidence. They have so many cases on their shelves and nobody knows when the decisions will be taken.” (DF watch)
President condemns opening of polling stations in Georgia’s breakaway regions by Russia
As the Georgian President’s Press Speaker Eka Mishveladze has declared today, the President thinks it is unacceptable that the Russian Federation has registered more than 114,000 people living in Georgia’s breakaway regions as voters in different parts of Russia.
Georgia’s Presidential Administration has commended on the Duma elections after polling stations were also opened in Georgia’s breakaway regions.
“The population of the occupied territories has participated in the elections of a foreign country. This is perceived as a step towards annexation of the territories. The President thinks it is unacceptable to register the breakaway regions residents as voters in the Russian Federation,” Eka Mishveladze remarked.
According to her, this constitutes a violation of international law.
The President himself condemned the step and called on the international community to condemn Moscow's policies. (IPN)