A FORMER footballer who played for Manchester City has been sworn in as the new president of Georgia
Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, who played for the Blues from 1995 to 1997, took office today, but the former midfielder has been accused of being a “puppet” for Vladimir Putin.
The former football star is known for his profanity-laden rants in parliament, having served as an MP since 2016 for the increasingly authoritarian ruling Georgian Dream party.
Georgian Dream, founded by billionaire businessman and former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been accused of dragging the country back into Russia's sphere of influence.
Kavelashvili was the only candidate for the job and it is believed he was chosen because of his loyalist views towards Georgian Dream.
Kavelashvili was sworn in behind closed doors on Sunday as Georgia's sixth president.
But constitutional law experts – including an author of the Georgian constitution, Vakhtang Khmaladze – called his election “illegitimate.”
Outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili said the same about Kavelashvili's appointment.
Kavelashvili has previously criticized the West for wanting “as many people as possible to be neutral and tolerant of the LGBTQ ideology, which supposedly defends the weak but is in fact an act against humanity.”
This comes as a wave of anti-government protests have gripped Georgia in recent months, as foreign powers try to prevent the country from aiding Putin's efforts to overthrow Ukraine.
On Friday, Washington imposed sanctions on Ivanishvili, arguing that he was undermining the country's democratic future to Russia's advantage.
The Sun reported on the riots at the time, as brutal clashes broke out against the ruling Georgian Dream party, which was accused of using Vladimir Putin to manipulate the election and secure victory.
The streets of the Georgian capital Tiblisi were filled with riot police armed with water cannon, tear gas and pepper spray against pro-Western demonstrators.
Fiery photos showed officers dragging people away while calling officers “Russians” and “slaves.”
Protesters also shot fireworks at police as officers tried to disperse the crowd by force.
These riots came as the country's 'pro-Putin' government halted its long-standing bid to join the EU until 2028.
One protester, historian Nika Gobronidze, 53, said: “I can hardly imagine anyone less suited to the role of head of state.
“Caligula wanted his horse to become consul, our oligarch wants his puppet Kavelashvili to become president.”
In 2022, Kavelashvili, together with other Georgian Dream lawmakers, founded a parliamentary faction called People's Power.
This is an anti-Western group that has officially split from the ruling party.
Kavelashvili scored his debut goal for Manchester City against their bitter rivals Manchester United.
He then joined Swiss club Grasshoppers, where he spent most of his time on the bench, before working elsewhere in Switzerland in Zurich, Lucerne, Sion, Aarau and Basel.
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