Sports
Mikheil Kavelashvili used to play for Manchester City. Now he’s Georgia’s far-right president-elect
It was an April’s day in an era when Manchester City were still playing at Maine Road and a visit from Manchester United was a lot more daunting than it has been in recent years.
City were on the attack. The ball was swung over from the left into the penalty area. Gary Neville was never going to beat Niall Quinn, the 6ft 4in (193cm) City striker, in an aerial contest. Another player in blue was waiting for Quinn’s knockdown. And that was the moment Martin Tyler’s voice went up an octave in the Sky Sports commentary box.
“My goodness, what a story! Mikheil Kavelashvili! On his debut, in a Manchester derby. Well, it’s a long name to splash across the back of a Manchester City shirt. But it will be splashed across a few headlines if City go on from this…”
Mikhail Kavelashvili equalises against Manchester United — his high point at City (Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images)
It’s funny how it turns out sometimes. That was about as good as it got for Kavelashvili during his brief dalliance with the Premier League towards the end of the 1995-96 season. United won the league, as they often did in those days, and for the last three decades, Kavelashvili’s contribution has been largely consigned to the dustbin of history by those City fans who remember the era of tragicomedy that resulted in Alan Ball’s team slipping towards relegation.
Kavelashvili has been back in the news and you can probably understand the collective surprise among former team-mates to learn that the pale-faced wearer of City’s No 32 shirt has re-emerged as a far-right politician and president-elect of Georgia, known for his sympathetic stance towards Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
“That’s a story I didn’t think I’d ever hear,” was Quinn’s verdict when The Athletic broke the news to the striker who set up Kavelashvili for his derby goal. “He was a lovely, smiley, mannerly young lad and so happy to be in Manchester — no edges at all.”
Kavelashvili was nominated for the largely ceremonial role last month by the Georgian Dream political party, just a few weeks after its re-election sparked protests in the streets amid accusations the vote was rigged and influenced by Russia.
The 53-year-old, described by former team-mates as “quiet and unassuming”, was elected to parliament in 2016 and, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, set up a splinter group called People’s Power.
Opponents accuse Georgian Dream of being pro-Russian and say its hardline beliefs will cause irreparable damage to the nation’s chances of joining the European Union. Nonetheless, Kavaleshvili’s presidency is all but guaranteed, given the vote is made by a 300-seat electoral college dominated by his own party.
Kavelashvili is now a leading figure in the Georgian Dream party (AP)
The election takes place tomorrow, with the inauguration on December 29, ushering in a 46-cap ex-international striker who has become increasingly known for his anti-Western statements. In June, Kavelashvili used social media to accuse the United States of having “an insatiable desire to destroy our country”. His political opponents, he says, have been steered by U.S. congressmen who are planning “a direct violent revolution and the Ukrainisation of Georgia”.
All of which seems a long way from the days when City were grubbing around for points towards the bottom of the Premier League and the 24-year-old Kaveleshvili was signed for £2million ($2.5m at current rates) from Dinamo Tbilisi, with the job of scoring enough goals to keep his new team in England’s top division.
“It could be argued that Kavelashvili spent most of his time at City facing in the wrong direction, just as he now seems to be doing as the prospective Russia-apologist leader of Georgia,” says Simon Curtis, a City fan, writer and author.
“He was bought on the say-so of (fellow Georgian) Georgi Kinkladze who told the somewhat gullible Alan Ball that he was, ‘Even better than me’. It was a desperate throw of the dice, just after City had been tonked 4-2 at West Ham. There were six games left and he looked lightweight and confused (against United) but he did score our equaliser.”
Unfortunately for City, Andy Cole restored United’s lead within a minute of Kavelashvili making it 1-1 and United ended up winning 3-2. Kavelashvili’s first appearance in English football — also marked by him missing a good chance to score a second, only to shoot straight into Peter Schmeichel’s face — was equally memorable for a mutinous outburst from Uwe Rosler, the striker who had lost his place to the new signing.
Rosler, a former East Germany international who infamously wore a T-shirt bearing the message ‘Rosler’s Grandad Bombed Old Trafford’, was seriously unimpressed to be left out. Cue an angry flare-up when Rosler came off the bench to score City’s second goal and ran to the dugout, jabbing an accusatory finger at the home manager.
“It wasn’t the happiest camp at times,” says Quinn. “I was angry that I wasn’t in the team for long periods. Uwe was angry when he was left out.
“We had Kinkladze, who had very little English. Georgi did all his talking on the ball, he was a wizard. The best way to describe him was that Alan Ball didn’t call him Georgi, he called him the ‘little genius’ — ‘Give the ball to the little genius’.
“Then Mikheil came along and he was a totally different player. He didn’t have Georgi’s skill or ability but he was honest and hard-working and he had something that he fought for. I found him a lovely guy. He was proud and patriotic to be Georgian. He had a little more English than Georgi and I remember he seemed particularly happy and proud that he was playing for Manchester City.”
Kavelashvili with Niall Quinn on his City debut (Mark Leech/Offside via Getty Images)
Kavelashvili played in a 3-0 defeat at Wimbledon and a nervy 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday but was not trusted by Ball to start the final game of the season at home to Liverpool — an occasion that will always be remembered for City’s players wasting time by the corner flag when they were drawing 2-2, thinking that would be enough to save them from relegation.
They had been cruelly misinformed: another goal was needed to stay up. It never arrived and, in Curtis’ words, Kavelashvili “came on as a late sub to be part of the relegation party”.
“I remember the game against United when he scored on his debut,” says Keith Curle, the former City defender. “But I also remember he had two big chances in the Liverpool game that saw us relegated.
“If you watch it back, he had two chances inside the six-yard box in the last 10 minutes. That’s not to blame him, it’s just the plight of the centre-forward. You can have one touch and be the hero. Or you can miss a couple of chances and it’s all about the ifs and buts and what could have been.”
Quinn, who won 92 caps for the Republic of Ireland, has never forgotten that match, either. “I have a memory of our centre-half Kit Symons scoring (to make it 2-2) and almost getting another one late on. We were scrambling for a goal in the last couple of minutes. Kit got on the end of a cross. Mikheil was running out of the way but the ball hit him on its way in and rebounded out, when it might have been the goal that kept us up.”
Relegation led to Quinn leaving the club for Sunderland. Kavelashvili, meanwhile, hung around for a season in the second tier, then called Division One. He underwhelmed again and a recent post by the Monument City fan blog summed up his contribution.
“He was different at least to Quinn and Rosler and cleared the low bar of being better than (fellow striker) Gerry Creaney,” writes its author, Mark Meadowcroft. “But he was not the sort of player we needed in the second tier. It soon became clear his main role was, as we had suspected all along, to be Kinkladze’s pal.”
Kavelashvili did pop up with a goal in a 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace and, six months later, he headed in City’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Grimsby Town. That, however, was it from the man whose political party has recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.
Kavelashvili was proud to represent Georgia (Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images)
Curle remembers his former team-mate being “very quiet, very unassuming, he mixed in well without ever being the star of the show or seeking the limelight… an intelligent man who never held court in the changing room or came across as politically minded”.
Sadly for City, the man in question was never a prolific scorer either, as City finished the 1996-97 season in 14th position, below Barnsley, Port Vale and Tranmere Rovers. “By the summer of ’97 nobody had even noticed he had gone, so little impact had he made,” says Curtis, author of City in Europe and a long-time authority on Mancunian nostalgia. “Kinkladze had his mum in Manchester cooking Georgian specialities for him, so there was definitely a worry he (Kinkladze) might be homesick.”
In total, Kavelashvili scored three goals for City in 29 appearances. It was not for him that a Georgian flag fluttered in the Kippax stand. But maybe, given his new occupation, he learned a thing or two about what constitutes good and not-so-good leadership. City did, after all, have five managers in his 12 months.
His first seven appearances came in Ball’s relegation XI. There were four with caretaker manager Asa Hartford, another four during Steve Coppell’s 33-day spell in charge, seven with Phil Neal and, finally, seven under Frank Clark, who remembers the Georgian as “a good character, a nice lad, never a problem for me in the dressing room” — and, unlike Kinkladze, never sent his parking fines to the club.
Kavelashvili, pictured with ex-France international Christian Karembeu in 2018 (Vano Shlamov/AFP via Getty Images)
It was not enough to secure a renewal of Kavelashvili’s work permit and the rest of his playing career was spent at clubs in Switzerland and Russia, winning the 1998 Swiss league title with Grasshoppers.
“I don’t think I have had any other former players go into politics,” says Clark, reflecting on Kavelashvili’s imminent position as the second ex-City player after George Weah, the former president of Liberia, to become a head of state.
“I obviously didn’t have much of an influence on him. Good luck to him, though, if he is going to be dealing with Putin, although he might find Putin is easier to deal with than I was.
“I am joking of course… I hope I am a nicer person than Putin.”
Additional reporting: Paul Taylor
(Top photos: Dan Goldfarb for The Athletic, top image: Getty Images)
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The group stage is the first step toward World Cup glory.
All 48 nations playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup have been divided into 12 groups (labeled A-L) of four teams.
With the expanded knockout format of 32 teams advancing past the group stage, winning the group has become more important than ever.
After Germany’s dominant 7-1 win over Curaçao, its odds to win Group E have increased from -210 to -320. Getting three points, combined with gaining a +6 goal differential, has put them in an ideal position after matchday 1.
Ivory Coast also made up a ton of ground after its 1-0 win over Ecuador on Sunday, seeing its odds to win Group E climb from +550 to +260.
Additionally, the U.S. men’s national team’s odds to win Group D saw major movement after its 4-1 win over Paraguay.
USA’s group odds continued to spike after Australia’s upset over Türkiye on Saturday night. Because Türkiye originally had the second-best odds to win the group, their loss had a major impact on the outlook of Group D.
The Stars and Stripes are now -210 to win their group.
Not only did USA’s odds jump, but Australia’s odds to win Group D skyrocketed from +1200 to +300 after its win.
The two nations will play next Friday night at Seattle Stadium for sole possession of first in the group.
Let’s check out the latest odds for all 12 groups at FanDuel Sportsbook, as of June 14.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
Group A winner
Mexico: -165 (bet $10 to win $16.06 total)
South Korea: +170 (bet $10 to win $27 total)
Czechia: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
South Africa: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Group B winner
Switzerland: +110 (bet $10 to win $21 total)
Canada: +160 (bet $10 to win $26 total)
Bosnia: +440 (bet $10 to win $54 total)
Qatar: +2700 (bet $10 to win $280 total)
Group C winner
Brazil: -165 (bet $10 to win $16.06 total)
Morocco: +240 (bet $10 to win $34 total)
Scotland: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Haiti: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Group D winner
USA: -220 (bet $10 to win $14.55 total)
Australia: +340 (bet $10 to win $44 total)
Türkiye: +700 (bet $10 to win $710 total)
Paraguay: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Group E winner
Germany: -320 (bet $10 to win $13.13 total)
Ivory Coast: +260 (bet $10 to win $36 total)
Ecuador: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Curaçao: +35000 (bet $10 to win $3,510 total)
Group F winner
Netherlands: +100 (bet $10 to win $20 total)
Japan: +230 (bet $10 to win $33 total)
Sweden: +370 (bet $10 to win $47 total)
Tunisia: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Group G winner
Belgium: -260 (bet $10 to win $13.85 total)
Egypt: +480 (bet $10 to win $58 total)
Iran: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
New Zealand: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Group H winner
Spain: -475 (bet $10 to win $12.11 total)
Uruguay: +440 (bet $10 to win $54 total)
Saudi Arabia: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
Cape Verde: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Group I winner
France: -230 (bet $10 to win $14.35 total)
Norway: +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
Senegal: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Iraq: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Group J winner
Argentina: -260 (bet $10 to win $13.85 total)
Austria: +380 (bet $10 to win $48 total)
Algeria: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Jordan: +7000 (bet $10 to win $710 total)
Group K winner
Portugal: -210 (bet $10 to win $14.76 total)
Colombia: +220 (bet $10 to win $32 total)
DR Congo: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Uzbekistan: +2700 (bet $10 to win $280 total)
Group L winner
England: -260 (bet $10 to win $13.85 total)
Croatia: +340 (bet $10 to win $44 total)
Ghana: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Panama: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
CHICAGO — Dodgers left-hander Jack Dreyer rubbed a new baseball between his hands as he walked back to the mound, a sold-out Rate Field coming alive around him.
Fireworks crackled over the center-field scoreboard. Digital pinwheels spun. Dreyer had just surrendered his second home run of the inning, transforming a low-scoring battle into a lopsided White Sox advantage.
The Dodgers’ recent bullpen problems persisted in a 6-4 loss Sunday, overshadowing a bounce-back effort from Emmet Sheehan. The Dodgers tried to come back in the ninth, but fell short.
“We’ve gotten bit by the long ball, obviously in Pittsburgh, and here tonight,” said bench coach Danny Lehmann, filling in Sunday for manager Dave Roberts while he attended his daughter’s college graduation. “But overall, it’s more the strike throwing and just getting ahead of guys and doing what they’re supposed to do.”
The Dodgers dropped the series 2-1, marking their first series loss since May 8-10 against the Braves.
Sheehan was charged with three runs in five-plus innings, a massive turnaround coming off the second-shortest start of his career, only rivaled by a planned one-inning outing at the end of last season.
Against the Angels last week, Sheehan threw 49 pitches and recorded just four outs before being pulled.
On Sunday, he didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning.
“He got strike one and then understood when to leave the zone when he needed to,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “He did a great job of that. I think a couple of those guys picked up on tendencies, jumped on a pitch. I felt they were good pitches. I thought he did his job today and gave us a chance to win.”
Sheehan’s velocity has been an indicator of how synced up his delivery has been on any given start this season.
On Sunday, his 95.1-mph average fastball velocity was 0.7 mph above his season average, according to Statcast — a promising sign. Results followed.
Sheehan retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced, just a hit batter away from perfection. With two outs in the fourth, he gave up a double to Colson Montgomery, on a low line drive up the first-base line, just out of reach of Freddie Freeman as he made a diving attempt.
Dodgers starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan delivers against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning Sunday.
(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)
Then against Braden Montgomery, Sheehan worked back from a 2-1 count for an inning-ending strikeout.
Out of Sheehan’s hand, the pitch looked like it was going to cross the plate on the inside corner, about belt high. But as Montgomery started his swing, the firm changeup veered away from his bat at a sharp downward angle.
Montgomery swung over the pitch. A fired-up Sheehan buried his fist in his glove and shouted. With that strikeout, he preserved the Dodgers’ one-run lead.
Freeman provided that run with a solo homer in the first inning. And Sheehan gave the Dodgers plenty of time to extend that lead. In the sixth inning, however, the White Sox finally got to him.
“I definitely felt better early,” Sheehan said. “And then more of the same towards the end. Just pretty frustrating.”
Sheehan’s fastball to Sam Antonacci wasn’t in a bad spot. But in an 0-2 count, he could have put it a little higher or farther inside. Antonacci drove it over the right-field fence.
A single, a stolen base and an RBI double later, Sheehan walked off the mound, the Dodgers trailing 2-1.
Just a few weeks ago, turning the ball over to the Dodgers’ bullpen was a promising move. They were still riding a franchise-record streak of 38 consecutive scoreless innings.
Lately, however, it’s been a rocky ride. The bullpen entered Sunday with a 6.71 ERA since ending that scoreless streak on May 25. Only the Giants and Rockies produced a worse mark over that stretch.
None of the Dodgers’ relievers have been dominant in recent games. Tanner Scott has been credited with three saves but also two losses. Kyle Hurt’s ERA has risen from 0.60 to 4.22. Dreyer, who went 10 straight games without giving up a run before landing on the injured list with left shoulder discomfort, has surrendered five home runs in seven appearances since returning on May 31.
Dreyer gave up three runs and three hits. Then Blake Treinen and Jonathan Hernández held the White Sox the rest of the way.
The Dodgers tacked on three more runs, on a sacrifice fly and an RBI double from Alex Freeland, and a solo homer from Mookie Betts. They stranded runners at the corners in the ninth.
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Former NFL pass rusher Aldon Smith’s last act before his death was donating food for the homeless
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Former NFL pass rusher Aldon Smith spent time on what would be the final day of his life donating food to a charity that feeds the homeless.
The San Francisco 49ers announced on Saturday that Smith, who played in 50 games during his six-year career, died at the age of 36. Just hours before he was found unresponsive, Smith unexpectedly dropped off 10 pizzas to CHAM Deliverance Ministry, a San Jose, Calif., charity that feeds the homeless.
Amir Shirazi, a friend of Smith’s who picked up on Saturday to make the surprise delivery, spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle about the charitable donation before sharing the details of finding him unresponsive in his car.
Aldon Smith of the San Francisco 49ers waits between drills at the team’s first training camp practice Thursday afternoon, July 24, 2014, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Karl Mondon/MediaNews Group/Mercury News via Getty Images)
49ERS ANNOUNCE DEATH OF ALDON SMITH AT 36, ONCE THE FASTEST PLAYER TO REACH 30 SACKS IN NFL HISTORY
“He was a very sweet, caring, loving giant,” Shirazi said. “That if you really knew him, you’d know who he truly is.”
After dropping off the pizzas, Shirazi drove them to a grocery store and then back to his home. He explained to the outlet that he quickly ran inside to turn on some lights, and when he returned to the car, Smith was slumped over in his seat.
San Francisco 49ers Aldon Smith runs during practice at the 49ers training facility in Santa Clara, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014. (LiPo Ching/MediaNews Group/Mercury News via Getty Images)
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“I came out and he was basically dead in my front seat,” Shirazi said. “I’m just in shock.”
While Smith has a history of substance abuse, Shirazi said that he had not seen the former NFL player use drugs on Saturday and had only seen him smoke marijuana occasionally over the years. He said he believed that Smith’s death was a “natural death.”
“My impression was that this is a young man that wanted to help the homeless, which was great,” Scott Wagers, the co-founder of CHAM Deliverance Ministry, told the outlet. “When the 49ers and people like that want to help the community, that’s everything.”
Aldon Smith of the San Francisco 49ers suits up for the team’s first training camp practice Thursday afternoon, July 24, 2014, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) (Photo by Karl Mondon/MediaNews Group/Mercury News via Getty Images) ((Photo by Karl Mondon/MediaNews Group/Mercury News via Getty Images))
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Smith was drafted seventh overall in the 2011 NFL Draft out of Missouri, and made an immediate impact as a rookie, picking up 14.0 sacks and forcing two fumbles in 16 games. The next year he set a 49ers’ franchise record with 19.5 sacks and was named a First-Team All-Pro while leading the team to Super Bowl XLVII.
Smith reached 30 career sacks in just 27 games, making him the fastest player in NFL history to do so, breaking a record previously held by Hall of Famer Reggie White.
In 2013, Smith voluntarily entered rehab and missed five games. In 2014, he served a nine-game suspension for violations of the NFL’s substance abuse and personal conduct policies.
In 2015, the 49ers released Smith in August following his third DUI arrest before he was signed weeks later by the Oakland Raiders.
Smith remained indefinitely suspended from the NFL for four full seasons while dealing with legal and personal troubles. He made a return in 2020 and played a full season with the Dallas Cowboys, starting in all 16 games.
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