Ukraine crisis: Poland refuses to play 2022 FIFA world cup play-off match against Russia
Warsaw (Poland), February 26: Poland's national football team has refused to play Russia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup play-off on March 24 in Moscow. The winner of Poland vs Russia will face either Sweden or the Czech Republic in the finals.
The president of the Polish football federation, Cezary Kulesz, took to Twitter and said, "No more words, it's 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 Russia."
He further added that "This is the only right decision. We are in talks with the Swedish and Czech federations to bring forward a common position to FIFA."
The decision was backed up by the team’s players, including star forward, Robert Lewandowski.
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Bayern Munich’s Lewandowski quickly endorsed Kulesza’s statement and tweeted, “It is the right decision! I can’t imagine playing a match with the Russian National Team in a situation when armed aggression in Ukraine continues. Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this, but we can’t pretend that nothing is happening.”
“We, the players of the Polish national team, together with the Polish Football Association, decided that as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, we do not intend to play in the play-off match against Russia," said the Polish team in a separate statement.
The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Executive Board (EB) on Friday urged all International Sports Federations to move or cancel sports events currently scheduled in Russia or Belarus.
The IOC stated that the violation of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarussian governments should be taken into account and that the athletes' safety and security should be given top priority.
The International Olympic Committee has no events scheduled in Russia or Belarus.
Due to the Ukraine situation, UEFA has already moved the men's Champions League final from Russia to France, and Formula 1 has cancelled the Russian Grand Prix.
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-PTC News
