After The Invasion Of Ukraine, Poland And Sweden Refused To Play Russia In World Cup Qualifying Playoffs

In protest of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, the Swedish and Polish national teams won’t face Russia in March 2022 World Cup qualifying playoff matches.

Cezary Kulesza , the president of Poland’s Football Association, announced Saturday’s news.

“No more words! It’s time to act!” He tweeted that the Polish national team has decided not to take part in the play-off against Russia because of Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine.

“We are currently in discussions with (Swedish) and (Czech) federations to present a joint statement for FIFA.”
Poland was to travel to Moscow on Thursday, March 24 to face Russia. Ukraine was to travel to Scotland that day.

The winner of the Poland/Russia game will host either Sweden, Czech Republic or both on March 29, in the final of their World Cup qualification route.

The Swedish Football Association (SVFF), however, stated that it had decided on Saturday that the Swedish men’s football team would not face Russia in a playoff match — no matter where it is played.

The SVFF statement stated that “the Federal Board also exhorts FIFA to cancel play-off matches in March where Russia participates.”

“We are unable to believe that FIFA will ignore our call.” The Swedish FA stated that Russia can’t join “as long as this madness continues.”

Robert Lewandowski, the Bayern Munich star and Poland striker, echoed Kulesza’s sentiments, saying: “It’s the right decision!”

Lewandowski tweeted, “I cannot imagine playing a game with the Russian National Team when armed invasion continues in Ukraine.” “Russian footballers, fans and supporters are not to blame for this, but it is impossible to pretend that nothing is going on.”

The decision was also supported by other members of the Polish team who released joint statements via social media in English and Polish.

“We, the Polish National Team’s players, along with the Polish Football Association decided that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine meant that we did not want to play in the match against Russia,” it stated.

It is difficult to make this decision but life has more important things than football. Our thoughts are with Ukraine and Tomasz Kedziora (our friend from the national football team), who is still in Kiev with family.

The statement was signed with the hashtags #SolidarnizUkraina and #NoWarPlease.

Kedziora, a 27-year old defender, played for Dynamo Kyiv.

It stated that “Based on the alarming developments in the conflict between Russia, Ukraine, and the security situation,” the Football Associations of Poland, Sweden, and Czech Republic (FACR), have declared their firm position that the playoff games to qualify for 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, which are scheduled for 24 and 29 February 2022 respectively, should not take place in Russia.

The signatories of this appeal don’t consider going to Russia to play football there. We are witnessing a military escalation which has serious consequences for our national football teams as well as our delegations.

“We expect FIFA and UEFA immediately to respond and offer alternative solutions for where these playoff matches might be played.”

UEFA declared Friday that the Champions League Final of this year will not take place in St. Petersburg after an extraordinary meeting with its Executive Committee.

The final of 2022 was originally scheduled to take place at Krestovsky Stadium. This venue is sponsored by Gazprom. However, the event will now be played at the Stade de France, Paris, on the original date of May 28.

Some of Russia’s most renowned athletes have spoken out against the war on Ukraine.