Riding Wave Of Euro Success, Georgian Footballers Join Wider Battle For Europe

TBILISI -- Georgia is on its way to Europe.

Not to the European Union -- at least not yet -- but to this summer's Euro championship, the Caucasus country's first-ever appearance in a premier international soccer event.

But with millions of Georgians at once in thrall to both soccer mania and a political crisis over democratic values and geopolitical identity, aspirations of joining Europe -- the soccer big time and within the European Union -- are increasingly intertwined.

Georgia's footballers emerged as national heroes after their dramatic Euro qualifying victory over Greece on March 26. Now, some national team players are speaking out forcefully against the reintroduction of a draft law on "foreign agents" and violent police crackdowns on protests against the bill.

The ongoing demonstrations in Tbilisi are a response to revived fears that the ruling Georgian Dream party is diverting the country from the European path that most Georgians desire by reintroducing what's been dubbed the "Russian law" to curb foreign influence among media and NGOs.

After months of mounting protests since early April, tensions have intensified sharply as the bill progresses through parliament and police respond with tear gas, water cannons, and -- evidence suggests -- rubber bullets.

SEE ALSO: 'Rubber Bullets And Beatings': Victims, Eyewitnesses Talk Of Violence Against Georgian Protesters

"It's difficult for me to see how they are confronting my compatriots, especially women and children," national team midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze wrote on Instagram on May 2. "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!"

The support from players has fed the enthusiasm of the bill's opponents.

"We made it to the Euros, now let's go to the EU, too," signs have read at the protests. Soccer songs have rung out at many of those demonstrations, including an unofficial anthem whose chorus proclaims, "Fairy tales always come true."

For the protesters, though, a fairy-tale ending remains improbable. Georgian Dream and its allies appear determined to pass the bill in its third and final reading by mid-May, even as protesters show no sign of backing down.

SEE ALSO: Georgian President Urges EU Support As Protesters Gather At Easter Vigil

Each side has stepped up pressure on the athletes to help push their side to victory, with at least one evoking the bloodshed in newly independent Georgia after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

A former player and current Georgian Dream ally, lawmaker Mikheil Kavelashvili, went so far as to accuse star forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on Instagram of courting violence with his social-media post condemning the bill.

"Kvara, your statement was used by the opposition and that's how the civil war started in the '90s," Kavelashvili told the media arm of his right-wing People's Power party, a Georgian Dream spinoff. "When a Georgian confronts a Georgian with your statement, the responsibility is on you."

Leaders of the protests, meanwhile, are trying to leverage the players' newfound activism to attract Georgians who may not be otherwise politically engaged but who definitely love their team.

"Football is considered part of Georgia's national identity at this point, especially after this victory," Tamar Jakeli, a protest organizer, said. "Any support from football players plays a huge role, especially [among] people who are not in this 'liberal bubble'" of middle-class Tbilisi residents who form the base of any protests against the ruling party, she said.

She said it was a "wake-up call that something is going on" for people in other regions of Georgia.

The Agony Of Defeat To The Thrill of Victory

When Georgia qualified for Euro 2024 after a tense penalty shoot-out with Greece, it represented a long road back for its long-suffering fans.

Georgia had a proud soccer history under the Soviet Union, with Georgian players heavily overrepresented on Soviet national teams and the republic's top club team, Dinamo Tbilisi, among the U.S.S.R.'s best. In 1981, it won the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup, besting all other European league champions.

But soccer, like much in Georgia, collapsed in the 1990s. It quickly became mired in "corruption and a lack of new ideas," according to Armaz Akhveldiani, a sportswriter at Setanta who wrote and directed a series of documentaries on Georgian soccer for RFE/RL's Georgian Service.

Following the 2003 Rose Revolution, the corruption was curbed but the stale thinking remained, Akhveldiani says. Fans got used to disastrous qualifying campaigns, whether for club teams or the national squad. "All of them [were] failing brutally. It was very painful to see scores like 7-1," said Nino Samkharadze, an analyst at the Georgian Institute of Politics who is writing her doctoral dissertation on Georgian national identity and soccer.

More recently, though, soccer returned to the spotlight and things started to pick up.

When Georgian Dream came to power in 2012, it co-opted several soccer luminaries. Kakha Kaladze, who starred at AC Milan in the 2000s, joined the party and served first as a member of parliament and since 2017 has been Tbilisi's mayor. The head of the Georgian Football Federation, Levan Kobiashvili, joined parliament within the Georgian Dream faction in 2016 and subsequently began to rebuild the country's lamentable soccer infrastructure.

"They have an agreement," Akhveldiani said, whereby, in his words, Kobiashvili has effectively said, "You can use my name; now give me land for stadiums." (Kobiashvili did not respond to messages seeking comment.)

Eventually, the results began to show. Georgia was just one win away from qualifying for Euro 2020, losing in the decisive match to North Macedonia.

Now that they are in, the painful road to Euro 2024 has made the accomplishment all the sweeter. "This lack of success made the current success resonate even doubly among Georgian people," Samkharadze said. Delirious fans celebrated in the streets of Tbilisi after the latenight victory, and a video of the players dancing joyfully in the locker room was viewed a million times.

And it wasn’t just that they won; it was also how they won.

To many fans, it represented the best of what their country has made of itself after 30 years of hard times since gaining independence. A Facebook post that went viral showed a childhood acquaintance of game-winning penalty kicker Nika Kvekveskiri recalling life in their settlement for Georgians displaced from Abkhazia as a result of the separatist war of the 1990s.

She recalled how Kvekveskiri would go to practice early and stay late. She said he loved playing so much that, when his parents couldn’t afford a one-week camp, they told him a white lie so he wouldn't know the team was practicing without him. "Thank you, Nika, for this stubbornness, for everything and especially for yesterday's distinctive, confident victory goal," she wrote.

In its quiet humility, the team challenged the stereotype of the macho Georgian brawler and was instead distinguished by the "new forms of masculinity" it displayed, Tamta Mikeladze, the head of the Tbilisi NGO Social Justice Center, wrote in another widely shared Facebook post.

"That's why this victory is a great victory, because most of our footballers come from ordinary families and have experienced the life, pain, and strength of our people themselves," she said. "They were able to make themselves out of nothing, as our people have created hope through dedication for 30 years."

A Political Football

The country had barely a week to bask in its qualification victory before Georgian Dream dropped a political bombshell, saying it would be reintroducing a bill requiring organizations and media outlets to register as "agents of foreign influence" if they got more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.

Explainer: Why Are Mass Protests Shaking Tbilisi?

When a similar bill was introduced by Georgian Dream's allies last year, it drew immediate comparisons to laws in Russia that have used "foreign agent" designations to steadily strangle dissent there over the past decade. Georgian opponents branded theirs the "Russian law," a name that has stuck to the second version as well. U.S. and EU leaders sharply criticized it at the time as a potential assault on freedoms.

Georgians who feared it would spoil their country's accelerated bid for EU membership following Russia's full-scale invasion of nearby Ukraine raised their own objections in street protests that were put down with chemical spray, water cannons, and stun guns.

WATCH: Witnesses captured video of men dressed in black who arrived to assault demonstrators. One victim described the beatings as "deliberate." There have also been widespread arrests and reports of excessive use of force by police.

Victims, Witnesses Describe 'Premeditated' Attack On Georgian Protesters

Burgeoning then-22-year-old soccer superstar Kvaratskhelia, who was playing for Italian club Napoli and had already earned the nickname "Kvaradona" after the late Argentinian great, Diego Maradona, wrote a Facebook post that said simply, "Georgia's future is in Europe."

While the message was oblique, it was interpreted as a show of support for the protesters. He was joined by a handful of other prominent athletes who also spoke out, playing what Samkharadze called a critical role in raising Georgian public aware of the issue.

"The resonance of those posts, the one by Kvara in particular, was huge," she said.

Eventually, the opposition to the bill was such that Georgian Dream and its allies were forced into a rare retreat, and they withdrew the legislation.

Back For The Second Half

This time around, some in Tbilisi speculated that the protest mood after the new "foreign agents" bill was introduced might fade in the afterglow of the historic Euro qualifier. But if that was part of Georgian Dream's thinking, it appears to have miscalculated.

Instead, the reintroduction and surprise moves to advance the bill in parliament sparked protests in Tbilisi that have steadily grown. Perhaps crucially, opposition from outside the traditional political arena appears to have eclipsed last year's level, including from several of the key players in Georgia's Euro qualification run.

Midfielder Giorgi Kochorashvili posted a photo on Instagram on April 9 of his niece at a rally against the bill that outsiders took as a message of support for the protesters. The post was seized on by anti-government activists but also by Georgian Dream and its supporters. Kaladze, the mayor and former Milan star, went on the attack by suggesting that Kochorashvili's father was a member of an opposition political party.

Kochorashvili had become one of the team's more beloved players as a result of his performance in the clinching match with Greece. "He was the first penalty shooter," Samkharadze said. "So he's very important for us now."

In the face of Kaladze's criticism, Georgian Dream opponents called for more players to speak out. "People were doing basically nothing to defend Kochorashvili. So people started to increase the demands on footballers," Samkharadze said. "'OK, guys, post something. We need you. Kochorashvili needs your support. Where are you? We supported you at the stadium and now we need your support.' These kinds of narratives were circulating in social media."

Soon, several of his teammates were posting.

Striker Budu Zivziadze, who scored both of Georgia's goals in a win over Luxembourg that set up the showdown with Greece, posted a photo of two boys, one draped in a Georgian flag and the other an EU flag, facing down a phalanx of black-clad police in helmets and balaclavas. "No to Russia, Georgia's way is in Europe," he wrote, adding, "No one should thank me because I am saying what every Georgian should be saying."

Dinamo, Georgia's top club performer in Europe to date, posted on its official Facebook page that "Our European future is our national choice.… We remember the importance of our European title with the pride of Georgia achieved by our legendary ancestors. Our future is only European!"

National team midfielder Jaba Kankava was blunter, posting a photo of the Georgian and EU flags intertwined with the caption "Russian S.S.R." and a shit emoji.

Georgian Dream Back On Offense

Other players have posted milder statements on social media. Many, including Kvaratskhelia, have used the same wording: "Georgia's path and future is in Europe."

But while Kvaratskhelia's message last year seemed subversive, in the new context these gentler posts have been more open to skeptical interpretations. The players who have spoken out fall into two "camps," according to Samkharadze. "One camp is the 'pro-European' footballers. Another camp is the obviously anti-[Georgian Dream] footballers."

The more generically pro-European messages that don't make comparisons to Russia are vague enough that they don't contradict any of Georgian Dream's messaging, which also emphasizes a European future for the country but one on the party's own terms.

"Both sides are successfully using those [pro-Europe] footballers because they are just saying that the future of Georgia is in Europe. And both [Georgian Dream] as well as the opposition are saying this," Samkharadze said.

She contrasted the soccer players' posts to one made by Ilia Topuria, a Spanish-Georgian Ultimate Fighting Championship star. "It is painful to see how special forces beat the protesters who are fighting for the good of everyone," he wrote on April 17, after a Tbilisi protest at which police chased and beat some of the participants.

Massive Crowds Meet Fresh Police Crackdown As Georgian Protests Continue

The coordinated nature of the soccer players' messages has led to speculation that they might be orchestrated by the country's soccer federation. And while Kvaratskhelia's post got him a scolding from People's Power deputy Kavelashvili, it has been embraced by more mainstream pro-Georgian Dream media. The television network Imedi reported the statements by Kvaratskhelia and other teammates with the matter-of-fact headline "Georgian soccer players express their support for the country's European future in social networks."

Merab Metreveli, an anchorman from the news outlet Kviris Palitra who comments regularly on both sports and politics, speculates that there has been pressure on the players to avoid expressing their personal opinions. "But the pressure seems to have been unsuccessful, so they had to change their tactics and just say that 'nothing they are saying is anything we disagree with.'"

Georgian Dream leaders have been careful to aim their fire at other targets. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze shot back at the Dinamo club leadership for its comments, suggesting links to the previous government led by the party that is now the biggest opposition force. "Dinamo has 12 points in 10 games and is in fifth place in the championship of Georgia," Kobakhidze said. "The policy of the previous government brought our proud sports club to this situation."

And even when Kaladze attacked Kochorashvili's father instead of the player himself, he later backtracked to emphasize that he had played a role in advancing the young man's career.

"It's not worth it for the government to attack soccer players because they now enjoy this mass nationwide love, which wasn't the case when we were losing all the time," Metreveli said.

While many have interpreted the "foreign agent" bill as a Georgian Dream ploy to heighten divisions in the country and rally conservatives ahead of elections in October, Metreveli suggests it may turn out to be an own goal.

He recalls that during Euro 2008, then-President Mikheil Saakashvili tried to gin up interest in soccer despite the fact that Georgia wasn't in the tournament by creating fan clubs for the also-rans and making the tournament the top story every day on TV news. The idea, Metreveli says, appeared to be to encourage people to forget about their dissatisfaction with the government.

Now, Metreveli says, soccer mania took hold "all by itself" until the government changed the subject with the "foreign agent" law. "It's really puzzling, we can't figure it out."

In the face of the soccer players' opposition, the government has taken pains to emphasize its role in building up sports in the country. Shortly after the players' social media posts began to appear, billboards popped up across the country celebrating the Euro qualification and other successes by the national basketball, rugby, and water-polo teams.

At a pro-government counterprotest on April 29, Bidzina Ivanishvili -- the founder and still honorary chairman of Georgian Dream -- made a rare public appearance and in his remarks celebrated the Euro invitation as "a 30-year-old dream for Georgian fans."

The Ivanishvili-controlled charity fund Cartu Group has promised the soccer team a reward of 30 million laris (about $11 million) if they make it out of the group stage. Protest organizer Jakeli said the reward looks like a "bribe" intended to encourage the players to remain loyal.

Going Quiet?

As both the protests and the police responses intensified, pressure again mounted on the players to weigh in.

National athletes from several other sports -- including rugby and basketball -- quickly put out social media posts denouncing the police violence. In that atmosphere, the relative silence of the soccer team was conspicuous – among the men, anyway: Posts by several of the national women's team's players prompted Metreveli to say on Facebook that "the women's team has clearly outclassed the men."

But on May 2, in what looked like a coordinated rollout, at least five members of the men's national team issued posts strongly criticizing the police crackdown and seemingly lending support to protesters.

"Glory and freedom to Georgia, and no to violence," Kochorashvili wrote. "No to Russia! The path of Georgia is to Europe!"

"As many people have gone out in these days to Rustaveli" -- a central avenue in Tbilisi where protests have been centered -- "if not more probably, as those who celebrated our entry into the European championships," wrote Anzor Mekbavishvili. "We are Georgia! Our fairy tale should have a happy end."

Georgian Dream has its own idea of a happy ending. The law passed its second reading on May 1. It still requires one more reading to become law. President Salome Zurabishvili has vowed to veto it, but the ruling party has enough votes to override it. The bill could thus become law around the time of the championship group stage in late June.

It will be tough going for Georgia's soccer heroes. Despite talk of a relatively easy group that includes Turkey, Portugal, and the Czech Republic, most oddsmakers have them dead last in the 24-team pool. The team’s chances of collecting on Ivanishvili's bonus thus appear slim.

And with a rocky political road ahead in the absence of any major political concessions, Georgians' attention will be divided between the battle on the pitch and the battles in Tbilisi's streets.

"Everything depends on how this is going to develop politically," said Metreveli. "It's possible we’ll be watching the tournament from the rallies."