Poland Football Association Refuses to Play Against Russia in World Cup Qualifier

Sports

Polish FA President Cezary Kulesza announced the team “does not intend to play” the World Cup “play-off match against Russia” scheduled for March 24.

No more words, 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. We are in talks with 🇸🇪 and 🇨🇿 federations to bring forward a joint statement to FIFA.

— Cezary Kulesza (@Czarek_Kulesza) February 26, 2022

Polish gun forward Robert Lewandowski echoed the President’s words in his tweet, saying, “It is the right decision.”

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. https://t.co/rfnfbXzdjF

— Robert Lewandowski (@lewy_official) February 26, 2022

Along with Lewandowski, Poland’s goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny, posted a strong statement on Instagram including references to his Ukrainian family ties, saying; “My wife was born in Ukraine, there is Ukrainian blood running through the veins of my son, part of our family is still in Ukraine, a lot of my workers are Ukrainian and they’re all great people.”

He went on to say, “I refuse to play against players who choose to represent the values and principles of Russia! I refuse to stand on the pitch, wearing the coulours [sic] of my country and listen to the national anthem of Russia! I refuse to take part in a sporting even [sic] that legitimases [sic] the actions of the russian [sic] government.”

This is yet another blow for Russia on the world stage as the country faced sanctions for invading Ukraine, along with Formula 1 removing its scheduled Russia event and English football club Manchester United removing their sponsorship with Russian airline Aeroflot.