The President of the Polish Football Association (PZPN) has decided on the Russia-Poland match scheduled for March 24th as part of the World Cup. “The Polish national team does not intend to play a game against the Russian national team”, Cezary Kulesza tweeted.
„No more words, it’s time to act! In connection with the escalation of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, the Polish national team does not intend to play a match against Russia. That’s the only right decision. We are holding talks with the Swedish and Czech associations to present a common position to FIFA,” said Cezary Kulesza, President of the PZNP.
Koniec ze słowami, czas na czyny! W związku z eskalacją agresji Federacji Rosyjskiej na Ukrainę, reprezentacja Polski nie zamierza rozegrać barażowego meczu z rep. Rosji. To jedyna słuszna decyzja. Prowadzimy rozmowy z federacjami ?? i ??, aby przedstawić FIFA wspólne stanowisko.
— Cezary Kulesza (@Czarek_Kulesza) February 26, 2022
Russia will play Poland in Moscow on March 24, while Sweden will compete against the Czech Republic in the semi-final for promotion to the World Cup in Qatar.
Five days later, the final will take place, the winner of which will travel to the World Cup. In the original version, if Poland had won the semi-final against Russia, it would have hosted the decisive match. If the Russians win against White-Red, they would host the final against Sweden or the Czech Republic.
President Andrzej Duda considered it right that the Polish national football team should not play a game against Russia in Moscow. “You don’t play with bandits”, the president wrote.
There was also a common position of the Polish footballers: we do not intend to play against Russia in the playoff.
„I am very proud and grateful that the leaders of our national football team and the President of the PZPN have supported Ukraine and have clearly rejected the possibility of playing with Russia in Moscow. There are situations in which it is not worth calculating, but one has to work for good and against evil,” stressed Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.