Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic refuse to play against Russia in FIFA World Cup qualifiers: “We all want the war to end”
The repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to ripple over the sports world. What will happen in the UEFA World Cup qualifiers only got a little more murky because Poland would play against Russia with the winner of the match against the winner of Sweden against the Czech Republic. Initially, these teams released a statement that they would not travel to Russia for these matches, leaving FIFA with a decision to make. Now they have taken their position even further.
“In light of the escalation of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, the Polish national team will not play a match against the Russian Republic,” the president said. said Cezary Kulesza on Twitter.
“This is the only right decision. We are in talks with the Swedish and Czech federations to present a common position to FIFA.”
The Swedish Association released a statement supported Poland’s decision, which was brief but straightforward, and a day later the Czech Football Association joined the fight.
“The men’s national team will not play against Russia – no matter where the match is played. The Federal Board also urges FIFA to cancel the play-off matches in March in which Russia participates.”
“The Czech FA’s executive committee, staff and players of the national team agreed that it is not possible to play against the Russian national team in the current situation, not even in the neutral arena. We all want the war to end as soon as possible. as possible, “he said Czech FA statement released on Twitter.
These steps came after FIFA President Gianni Infantino refused to commit to an action plan on Thursday, instead hoping things would blow over. “The first match is a month from now and we naturally hope that this whole situation will be resolved before then – long before that, as soon as possible,” he said. “We want to strongly believe in that. But we have a body in place, the agency, that can make a decision at any time. We will analyze the situation and we will make the decision when we have to make it. “
Poland’s players took to Twitter to express their support for the decision not to play against Russia. Bayern Munich superstar Robert Lewandowski said: “Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this, but we can not pretend that nothing happens.”
The ball is back with Infantino but it is clear that the wait to make a decision will not be acceptable because federations take matters into their own hands. Even with matches that are still a month away, a solution must be found.
UEFA World Cup qualifying schedule
24th of March
Russia v Poland, 13.00 ET
Sweden v Czech Republic, 15:45 ET
March 29
Winner of Russia / Poland vs. Winner of Sweden / Czech Republic
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