The Poland national football team are prepared to sacrifice their place in this year’s World Cup after declaring they are unwilling to play against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
Poland were originally scheduled to travel to Moscow on March 24 for their World Cup qualification play-off match against Russia, with the winner then hosting either Sweden or Czech Republic for a place in next winter’s tournament in Qatar.
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Those three teams released a joint statement to FIFA saying Russia should not be allowed to host a World Cup qualifier, but now Poland have gone a step further.
On Saturday morning, Polish FA president Cezary Kulesza tweeted: ‘No more words, time to act!
‘Due to the escalation of the aggression of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine, the Polish national team does not intend to play the play-off match against the Russian national team.
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‘This is the only right decision. We are in talks with the Sweden and Czech Republic federations to bring forward a common position to FIFA.’
Poland’s decision to refuse to play against Russia irrespective of the location of the match has been led by the players themselves, with captain Robert Lewandowski consulting the whole squad.
Reacting to the Polish FA president’s statement, the Bayern Munich striker wrote on Twitter: ‘It is the right decision! I can’t imagine playing a match with the Russian national team in a situation where armed aggression in Ukraine continues.
‘Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this, but we can’t pretend that nothing is happening.’
On Friday night he also wrote: ‘Everything that is beautiful in sport is contrary to 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 in order to work out a common position on this matter and present it to the president of the Polish Football Association as soon as possible.’
European football’s governing body UEFA have already confirmed that any matches in their competitions due to be played in Russia will now take place at neutral venues – which only affects Spartak Moscow’s Europa League tie with RB Leipzig – but FIFA have yet to make their position clear.
Despite Poland’s joint statement with Sweden and Czech Republic opposing playing the World Cup qualification play-offs in Moscow, they have received no feedback or response from FIFA so far.
A spokesperson for the Polish FA told The Athletic on Friday: ‘We are still waiting for the feedback from FIFA. We learned nothing at yesterday’s press conference after the council meeting.
‘We are of the position that FIFA, as the organiser of the World Cup, has all the arguments and tools to make decisions about the change of the venue or the game itself.’
Were Russia to beat Poland in the play-off semi-final, they would then host the winner of Sweden vs Czech Republic in Moscow on March 29.
Speaking on Thursday evening, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said of the situation: ‘We continue to monitor the situation. We will update on the World Cup qualifiers soon. We can take decisions immediately as soon as it’s needed.’
Photo Credit: Getty
