Wrestler Datunashvili vows to leave Georgia if federation president stays
Monday, February 25
In late January Gegeshidze was arrested with the charges of physically abusing Datunashvili.
The investigation revealed that Gegeshidze physically assaulted sportsman Zurab Datunashvili during the match at the Sports Palace on January 11.
The investigation is still in progress under the Articles 126 and 239 of the Criminal Code of Georgia.
Before the arrest, the Federation President rejected accusations against him. He confirmed there really was a brawl in Sports Palace on December 11, after one of the tournaments, but excluded his participation in it.
However, later Gegeshidze admitted that he attacked Datunashvili and even apologized for his behavior. He was released in exchange of GEL 5000 bail from the courtroom after the trial was held. The court let Gegshidze stay on the post too.
The same topic was the main issue of the meeting at the Federation on February 23.
As Datunashvili says, the issue of dismissal of the federation president was not even discussed by the meeting participants. The sportsman excludes working with Gegeshidze.
“Veterans and meeting participants talked about the need to reconcile and but I cannot work with the president of the federation…There is no justice here. I will leave the country if nothing changes,” the wrestler stated in his Facebook post.
The sportsman added that the members of the federation are trying to manipulate with his statement regarding leaving the country in order to cover up the real problem in the Federation.
“Hence, I am left with only one, the hardest decision - to leave the country. If I go from Georgia, they can give me a two-year disqualification and I cannot take part in competitions with the name of any country. However, even if happens so, I am ready for this if I can protect my opinion,” Datunashvili’s post reads.
Chairman of the Olympic Committee Leri Khabelov confirmed that the federation has not discussed the resignation of Gegeshidze.
“Gegeshidze already apologized for his actions. Also, his case is still ongoing in the court, so we did not speak about this. As for Datunashvili, he stated he wants to compete by the name of the other country. We will discuss the issue and make a decision,” Khabelov said after the meeting at the wrestling federation.
In addition, the meeting was underway on the background of the protests from the civil activists, who support Datunashvili and call for the removal of Gegshidze from the post.
According to the protesters, the President of the Wrestling Federation, Gega Gegeshidze, should immediately resign due to his abusive behavior.