Poland and Sweden said they would not play their football World Cup qualifiers against Russia in March, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the governing bodies of both national teams said on Saturday.
Poland are due to play Russia in Moscow on March 24, with the winner to face Sweden or the Czech Republic for a place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Polish FA was first in announcing its decision and Robert Lewandowski, its biggest name on the football field currently, has called it “the right decision”.
Cezary Kulesza, the president of the Polish FA, said Poland would refuse to face Russia regardless of the venue. “No more words, time to act!” Kulesza said.
Lewandowski, 33, who plays for Bayern Munich, supported the decision saying: “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.”
The Swedish FA later joined Poland and said that its team would not face the Russians irrespective of where the match is played.
“The illegal and deeply unjust invasion of Ukraine currently makes all football exchanges with Russia impossible,” association chairman Karl-Erik Nilsson said.
“We therefore urge Fifa to decide that the playoff matches in March in which Russia participates will be cancelled. But regardless of what FIFA chooses to do, we will not play against Russia in March.”
Fifa was yet to comment on the matter.
Not just football, the Poland Volleyball Federation has decided not to engage in any matches against teams from Russia. Poland are the reigning world champions in volleyball and Russia are scheduled to host the next edition of the world meet in August-September this year.
Elina prayer
Top Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina has called on the sporting world to help her country, where people are living a “terrible nightmare”.
The world No. 15, speaking to Sky Sports, said: “I’m shocked at this terrible nightmare. I’m really praying every single minute for my family, for my friends, for all people in Ukraine and around the world for safety, for peace… To be honest with you… for me it’s a very stressful time because I cannot do anything. I cannot really help them… It’s a horrible situation for the people in Ukraine.”
There was support for Ukraine from Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev as well, as he wrote “no war, please” on a TV camera after defeating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz to reach the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday.
“You realise how important it is to have peace in the world and to respect each other no matter what, to be united,” Rublev, the world No. 7, said afterwards.
Written with inputs from agencies
Support for Ukraine and peace reverberated around the Premier League matches on Saturday — (top) Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick and players stand together with the Watford footballers while holding a sign saying “peace” in six languages ahead of their match on Saturday; (above) an LED board at Selhurst Park shows the Ukrainian flag before the Crystal Palace-Burnley game in London. Elsewhere, Aston Villa’s Polish defender Matty Cash was booked after taking his jersey off in celebration of a goal against Brighton & Hove Albion to reveal a message of support for compatriot Tomasz Kedziora, who is stuck in Kyiv. Kedziora plays for Dynamo Kyiv.
(Twitter & Getty Images)