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Owing to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Poland have decided not to play the Qatar World Cup qualifier match against Russian Republic which will be held next month.
“In light of the escalation of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, the Polish national team is not going to play a match against Russian Republic,” the president of the Polish Football Association, Cezary Kulesza, said on Saturday (February 26).
It is the “only correct decision,” he added.
Moscow is scheduled to host Poland in the semi-finals of its strand of the World Cup playoffs on March 24 and, if its team advances, is scheduled to host either Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 in the Path B final.
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, the nation's all-time leading scorer, immediately responded to say it's 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,” the Bayern Munich star footballer said on Twitter.
The other players who backed the decision were Kamil Glik, Mateusz Klich, Matty Cash as they said it was not an easy decision but “there are more important things in life than football”.
They also expressed solidarity with Ukraine “and our friend from the national team, Tomasz Kedziora, who is still in Kyiv with his family”.
Russian troops pressed toward Ukraine’s capital Saturday (February 26), after a night of explosions and street fighting that sent Kyiv residents seeking shelter underground.
It was not immediately clear how far Russian troops had advanced. Ukrainian officials reported some success in fending off assaults, but fighting persisted near the capital.
Earlier, FIFA president Gianni Infantino refused to take a decision regarding the playoffs when he held a press conference hours after the invasion began on Thursday.
He said “FIFA condemns the use of force” adding he was “shocked” by what he had seen but would not be rushed into a decision over moving the matches.
“The first match is in a month, we hope of course that this situation will be resolved well before then,” he added.
European football’s governing body UEFA punished Russia on Friday by stripping Saint Petersburg of hosting European club football’s showpiece event the Champions League final on May 28 and awarded it to Paris.
