Sport’s next reaction to the terrible war waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin (69) against Ukraine.
The Polish Football Association PZPN will not take part in the World Cup playoff against Russia “due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”. This was announced by association president Cezary Kulesza on Saturday morning via Twitter. The game was scheduled for March 24 in Moscow.
Kulesza: “No more words, time to act! Due to the escalation of the Russian Federation’s aggression towards Ukraine, the Polish national team does not intend to play the play-off game against Russia. That’s the only right decision. We are in talks with the Swedes and the Czechs to present a common position to FIFA.”
Bayern star and Poland captain Robert Lewandowski also responded to his president’s message on Twitter. “The right decision! I can’t imagine playing against the Russian national team in a situation where armed aggression in Ukraine is ongoing. Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this, but we cannot pretend that nothing is happening,” said the forward.
The world association Fifa has not yet commented on this.
On March 24, Poland was scheduled to play Russia in Moscow. The winner of this duel then meets the Czech Republic or Sweden, who faced each other in the previous round. The winner of this tournament would have traveled to Qatar for the World Cup in winter.
As early as Thursday, the associations had called on Fifa and Uefa to “react immediately” and to propose alternatives for the games on Russian soil.
Fifa President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday: “I hope that this situation will be resolved by then.”
