The Polish national football team is ready to donate its place this year World Cup after a statement that they do not want to play against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
It was originally planned that Poland would travel to Moscow on March 24 for the World Cup qualifier against Russia, with the winner taking Sweden or the Czech Republic for a place in the next winter tournament in Qatar.
The three teams issued a joint statement FIFA stating that Russia cannot be allowed to host the World Cup qualifiers, but now Poland has gone a step further.
On Saturday morning, the President of the Polish Football Assembly Cesare Kulesza wrote on Twitter: “More words, time to act!
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“Due to the escalation of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the Polish national team does not intend to play in the playoffs against the Russian national team.
“This is the only right decision. We are negotiating with the federations of Sweden and the Czech Republic to highlight the common position of FIFA.
Poland’s decision to abandon the game against Russia regardless of the venue of the match was made by the players themselves, and captain Robert Lewandowski advised the whole team.
Reacting to the statement of the President of the Polish Football Assembly, the striker of the Munich “Bavaria” wrote on Twitter: “This is the right decision! I can’t imagine playing a match with the Russian national team in a situation where armed aggression continues in Ukraine.
“Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this, but we cannot pretend that nothing is happening.”
On Friday night, he also wrote: “Everything beautiful in sports contradicts what war brings. For all people who value freedom and peace, this is a time of solidarity with the victims of military aggression against Ukraine.
“As the captain of the national team, I will talk to my teammates about the match with Russia to develop a common position on this issue and present it to the President of the Polish Football Union as soon as possible.”
The governing body of European football UEFA has already confirmed that any matches in their competitions, which are to take place in Russia, will now be held in neutral venues – which affects only the Europa League match between Spartak Moscow and Belarus Leipzig – but FIFA has not yet clarified its position.
Despite the joint statement of Poland with Sweden and the Czech Republic to oppose the playoffs of the World Cup in Moscow, they have not yet received any feedback or response from FIFA.
A spokesman for the Polish Football Assembly told The Athletic on Friday: “We are still waiting for feedback from FIFA. At yesterday’s press conference after the council meeting, we learned nothing.
“We hold the position that FIFA, as the organizer of the World Cup, has all the arguments and tools to make decisions about changing the venue or the game itself.”
If Russia beat Poland in the playoff semifinals, it would host Sweden’s winner against the Czech Republic in Moscow on March 29.
Speaking on Thursday night, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said of the situation: “We continue to monitor the situation. We will announce the World Cup qualifiers soon. We can make decisions as soon as necessary. “
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The Polish national football team has refused to play in the World Cup qualifier against Russia
Source link The Polish national football team has refused to play in the World Cup qualifier against Russia