The Eurovision Song Contest has rejected Georgia`s entry of a song that pokes fun at Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin because of its political message, organisers said Tuesday, according to AFP.
The song titled "We don`t wanna put in," performed by the group Stephane and 3G with its none-too-subtle play on the prime minister`s surname, was chosen last month as Georgia`s entry in the annual song contest.
"The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has officially informed Georgian public broadcaster GPB that the lyrics of their song for the 54th Eurovision Song Contest `We Don`t Wanna Put In` do not comply with the rules of the competition," Eurovision organisers said in a statement.
A group of experts that oversees the contest decided the song did not comply with a section of the rules declaring that "no lyrics, speeches, gestures of a political or similar nature shall be permitted" during the contest, the statement added.
Georgia has until March 16 to change the lyrics or choose a different song, it said.
Georgia chose the song after initially considering boycotting the contest because of its short war with Russia last year.
Georgian Public Television, which organised the contest to choose Georgia`s entry, had no comment as it had not received official confirmation of the rejection, GPB spokeswoman Natia Uznadze said.
With its chorus of "We don`t wanna put in/The negative move/It`s killin` the groove", the song was unlikely to get a warm reception in Moscow, which is hosting the contest after Russia won last year`s Eurovision competition held in Serbia.
Russian troops and tanks poured into Georgia last August in response to a Georgian military attempt to retake the Moscow-backed rebel region of South Ossetia.
Russian forces occupied swathes of territory and bombed targets across Georgia before mostly withdrawing to within South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia.
