On Wednesday, the Polish national team draw 1:1 with England in a World Cup qualifier. A shadow on a great match was the situation at the end of the first half. Rivals have accused Kamil Glik of racist behavior.
Glik was alleged to have engaged in racist behavior during a clash after the end of the first half with Manchester City defender Kyle Walker. This upset Harry Maguire and reacted furiously. Both players were later shown yellow cards. Glik assured the English press that it was only a “verbal dispute”.
“I express great surprise and disgust for the accusations made against Polish footballers (especially Kamil Glik) by representatives of the England national team. The unfounded accusations of racism, which slander the good name of the Polish national team, are shocking and damage the good image of Polish football,” said UEFA Vice President Zbigniew Boniek in a special statement on the PZPN website.
“To the representatives of the national team of our recent rivals, I would recommend analyzing the behavior of their defender Kyle Walker, who behaved rudely to the conciliatory gesture of Kamil Glik (shaking hands). A beautiful, exciting match (…) should not have such an epilogue, in which the representatives of the Polish national team are accused of untrue and scandalous behavior,” concluded the former excellent footballer,” wrote Boniek.
Polish national team manager and PZPN spokesman Jakub Kwiatkowski had already assured that no racist incident had taken place.
“I have spoken to our players and they deny there was any racist incident,” said Kwiatkowski.
Moreover, Kamil Glik’s wife received threats from English fans.