The Poles were to go to Moscow on March 24 in the semi-final of the play-off, the winner of which will face Sweden or the Czech Republic five days later, a meeting also scheduled in the Russian capital.

"Enough talk, it's time to act. Due to the escalation of the aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the team of Poland does not plan to play the play-off match against the team of Russia," Polish Football Association president Cezary Kulesza wrote on Twitter, adding that it was "the only correct decision" in the face of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine that began on Thursday.

The Polish Federation clarified that it was working with the Swedish and Czech federations to present a common position to Fifa.

The Polish star, striker Robert Lewandowski, immediately welcomed this position.

"It's the right decision. I can't imagine playing a match against the Russian national team in a situation where armed aggression in Ukraine continues," the Bayern Munich player wrote on Twitter.

"Russian footballers and fans are not responsible, but we cannot pretend that nothing is happening."

Infantino "concerned"

Asked by AFP, the International Federation did not react to this Polish announcement on Saturday morning.

So far, Fifa has not yet taken the slightest measure against Russia, contenting itself on Thursday with saying that it is "concerned" about a "tragic and worrying" situation, according to its president Gianni Infantino. .

FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the Club World Cup final between Palmeiras and Chelsea in Abu Dhabi, February 12, 2022 Giuseppe CACACE AFP

"The first match is in a month, of course we hope that this situation will be resolved long before that, we want to firmly believe in it, but our office can take a decision at any time," added the manager at a press conference, then that the Polish, Swedish and Czech federations had already officially requested to relocate the matches planned in Russia.

Calls from Russian athletes

Several international federations have taken action since the start of the invasion on Thursday, starting with UEFA, the European football confederation, which withdrew the organization of the prestigious Champions League final from Saint Petersburg, relocating it to Stade de France on May 28.

UEFA has also announced that no match in its competitions could be played on Russian soil.

The ground of the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, in the north of Paris, on April 30, 2020 FRANCK FIFE AFP / Archives

The Formula 1 Grand Prix in Sochi, scheduled for September, has also already been canceled, like all ski competitions scheduled in Russia by the end of winter.

The International Olympic Committee has called on all international sports federations to do the same, including for the events planned in Belarus, also asking to ban Russian and Belarusian flags and anthems from competitions.

Several sponsorship contracts with Russian groups have already been terminated by clubs and sports bodies.

And big names in the sport have raised their voices.

"Everything beautiful in sport is the opposite of what war brings," Lewandowski wrote on Twitter.

Russian ice hockey star Alex Ovechkin pleaded for peace: "Please, no more war (...) We must live in peace", he implored after a training in Philadelphia, a message also carried by the tennis player Andrey Rublev or the football international Fedor Smolov.

The Russian cyclist of the Ineos team Pavel Sivakov also positioned himself "totally against the war".

"Most Russians only want peace and never asked for this to happen," he wrote on social media.

© 2022 AFP