World Cup 2022 – Poland refuses to play World Cup qualifier against Russia

Sporting repercussions. Poland “does not plan to play the play-off“At the 2022 World Cup against Russia, scheduled for March 24 in Moscow, due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, the president of the Polish football federation announced on Twitter on Saturday.

“Enough talk, it’s time to act. Due to the escalation of the Russian Federation’s aggression in Ukraine, the Poland team does not plan to play the play-off match against the Russian team“, thus wrote Cezary Kulesza, adding that “it’s the only correct decision“and that he is working with the Swedish and Czech federations to present a common position to FIFA.

“It’s the right decision” according to Lewandowski

The captain of the Polish team, Robert Lewandowski, called Friday evening in a message on Twitter to the “solidarity with the victims“of the Russian attack.”Everything that is beautiful in sport is the opposite of what war brings. For all people who cherish freedom and peace, it’s time for solidarity with the victims of military aggression in Ukraine“, wrote Lewandowski, before announcing that he would discuss with his teammates to arrive at a common position on the question and present it to the Polish federation.

Since then, the Bayern Munich striker has reacted to the communication from the president of the Polish federation: “It’s the right decision! I cannot imagine playing a match against the Russian national team in a situation where armed aggression in Ukraine continues. Russian footballers and fans are not to blame for this, but we can’t just ignore it.”

FIFA has not taken action

The federations of the three countries likely to go to Russia at the end of March during the World Cup play-offs, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, had jointly asked, in a press release published Thursday, to relocate these meetings.

So far, FIFA has not yet taken any action against Russia, contenting itself on Thursday with saying “preoccupied“in the face of a situation”tragic and disturbing“, according to its president Gianni Infantino.