Ex-Man City star Mikheil Kavelashvili sworn in as PRESIDENT of Georgia after ‘Putin helped his party rig election’

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, has today taken office - but the former midfielder has been accused of being a "puppet" for Vladimir Putin.

The former football star is known for his profanity-laden tirades in Parliament, as an MP since 2016 for the increasingly authoritarian ruling Georgian Dream party.

Georgian Dream, founded by billionaire businessman and former Georgian PM 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 is thought to have been picked for his loyalist stances towards Georgian Dream.

Kavelashvili was sworn in behind closed doors on Sunday to become Georgia's sixth President.

But constitutional law experts -- including one author of Georgia's constitution, Vakhtang Khmaladze -- called his election "illegitimate".

The outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili has said the same thing of Kavelashvili's appointment.

Kavelashvili has previously slammed the West for wanting "as many people as possible (to be) neutral and tolerant towards 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 seek to prevent the country from aiding Putin's effort to overthrow Ukraine.

On Friday, Washington imposed sanctions on Ivanishvili, arguing he undermined the country's democratic future for Russia's benefit.

The Sun reported on the riots at the time, as brutal clashes erupted against the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has been accused of using Vladimir Putin to rig the election and secure it's victory.

The streets of Georgia's capital Tiblisi were filled with riot cops armed with a water cannon, tear gas, and pepper spray against pro-Western demonstrators.

Fiery pictures showed cops dragging people as they called officers "Russians" and "Slaves."

Protesters also shot fireworks at police as cops who tried to violently disperse crowds.

These riots were sparked when the country's "pro-Putin" government put a pause on its long-standing bid to join the EU until 2028.

One protester, historian Nika Gobronidze, 53, said: "I can hardly imagine anyone less suited for the role of head of state.

"Caligula wanted his horse to be a consul, our oligarch wants his puppet Kavelashvili to be a president."

In 2022, Kavelashvili, alongside other Georgian Dream lawmakers, established a parliamentary faction called People's Power.

This is an anti-Western group that officially split from the governing 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 stints elsewhere in Switzerland at Zurich, Luzern, Sion, Aarau and Basel.