Georgian women’s football split over rape case: Lanchkhuti boycotts Nike-Luso

 @NGnewsgeorgia. A major scandal has erupted in Georgia’s Women’s National League. The country’s reigning champions, the football club “Lanchkhuti,” refused to play their match against the Tbilisi-based “Nike-Luso” in protest against sexual violence. Other league teams have already joined the solidarity action.

The incident occurred on September 29, before the start of a scheduled match. The “Lanchkhuti” players refrained from the traditional handshake with their opponents. Immediately after the opening whistle, the “Lanchkhuti” captain kicked the ball out of play, after which the players unfurled a banner reading: “Anyone who supports violence is an accomplice to violence.”

Later, the “Lanchkhuti” club published an official statement, explaining that the protest was prompted by a decision of the Tbilisi City Court dated September 22, 2026.

The court fully acquitted the former owner and president of “Nike-Luso,” Turkish businessman Mehmet Uyar, who had been accused of raping a 20-year-old footballer from his own team (a member of Georgia’s national team). Uyar spent nine months in custody but was released right in the courtroom. His defense is now appealing the acquittal.

In addition, “Lanchkhuti” pointed to past incidents involving “Nike-Luso,” including the discovery of surveillance cameras in the changing rooms. Following an inspection, the State Audit Service fined the club’s owning company 4,000 lari.

The scandal in Georgian women’s football quickly spilled beyond a single match. On September 30, Women’s Football Club “Batumi” and Tbilisi’s “Kvartali” staged a similar act of solidarity. They published photos of the teams holding the same banner against violence. 

The leadership of “Nike-Luso” issued a strongly worded counterstatement. It rejected all the allegations and announced plans to sue for defamation. Club representatives stressed that the court had acquitted their former president and that the ongoing attacks violated the law. The club claims that the defense has deleted correspondence and video recordings proving that the plaintiff’s testimony was false.

According to “Nike-Luso,” the key participants in the protest and the alleged victim herself harbored resentment over their contracts not being renewed and their exclusion from team chats.

The club also stated that the Audit Service’s fine of April 27, 2026, was technical in nature. It claims that video monitoring was conducted in rooms that were not changing rooms.

The Georgian Football Federation has still made no comment on the situation.