Poland announced that it will ask FIFA not to play the playoff for the Qatar World Cup against Russia

Since Vladimir Putin led the Russian troops to invade Ukraine, the world of sports has not been oblivious to the war and different events have taken place that confirm the impact generated by the situation in Europe. And in the last hours, one of the federations involved in the next playoff of the UEFA for classification to Qatar World Cup to be played in March made an important announcement.

The president of the Polish Football Association (PZPN), Cezary Kuleszaannounced on his personal Twitter account that Poland will seek not to play the match against Russia which is scheduled to play next March 24 on Russian territory. “Enough talking, it’s time to act. Due to the escalation of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the Polish team does not plan to play the qualification match against the Russian team.”wrote.

In addition, he indicated how it happened a couple of days ago, when together with the federations of Sweden and Czech Republic published a letter requesting that the venue of the meeting be changed, they are in dialogue with both associations to present a letter to FIFA stating that they do not agree to be rivals of the Russian team either.

“This is the only correct decision and we are in communication with the Swedish and Czech Republic football federations to present a common position to FIFA.”added the head of the Polish football federation.

Faced with this scenario, one of the keys to the UEFA playoff that will define the last qualifiers for the World Cup in the Middle East of the Old Continent is in doubt. Russia should receive Poland on March 24 in Moscowin the semi-finals of their play-off bracket for the World Cup. If the Russians make it through that round, they would have to receive the winner of the other semifinal on March 29, which will star the Swedes and the Czechs..

Shortly after, the one who joined the request of the head of the federation was the captain of the team and top star of the national team. Robert Lewandowski he quoted the president’s publication and made clear his position in favor of that measure. “It is the right decision! I cannot imagine playing a game with the Russian 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.”.

It must be remembered that a few hours into the war conflict on Ukrainian territory, the three federations issued a statement in which they expressed his refusal to participate in the playoffs for the Qatar 2022 World Cup on Russian soil.

The Federations of the three teams involved in the decision issued a joint statement in which they showed their rejection of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. “The football federations of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic categorically condemn Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine. In view of the current situation, the Polish Football Association (PZPN), the Swedish Federation (SVFF) and the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAcR) express a firm position that is scheduled for March 24-29 this year”, they explained in the letter.

“The play-off matches for the World Cup in Qatar should not be held in the Russian Federation. The signatories of this appeal do not take into account the trip to Russia and the playing of football matches there. The military escalation that we are observing is associated with serious consequences and a significant reduction in the security level of our official representations and delegations. Therefore, we expect an immediate response from FIFA and UEFA and the presentation of alternative solutions for the next matches.”

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