Poland and Sweden refuse to confront Russia for its invasion of Ukraine
The Polish and Swedish Football Associations pre-empted any decision by their international counterpart (FIFA) regarding the confrontations with Russia within the qualifying supplement for the Qatar World Cup 2022, and announced on Saturday their refusal to confront it because of its invasion of Ukraine.
With the conflict entering its third day and the displacement of more than 50,000 Ukrainians, Polish Football Association President Cesari Kulesa tweeted, "The time for talk is over. It's time for action. Given the escalation of Russian aggression in Ukraine, the Polish national team is not thinking of playing the play-off against Russia," adding that " The only right decision."
He said he would work with the Swedish and Czech federations (the winner between them faces the winner between Russia and Poland in Russia) to present a unified position to FIFA.
Within the second track in the European play-off semi-final, Russia was scheduled to host Poland on March 24 and Sweden to the Czech Republic on the same day, with the two winners facing Russia on the 29th of it in a final match for a qualifying ticket to the World Cup.
Hours after Poland's announcement, the Swedish Federation took a similar step, declaring its refusal to face Russia if they win the semi-finals of the continental play-off.
"Whatever FIFA decides, we will not play against Russia in March," FIFA president Karl-Eric Nilsson said in a statement.
The Swedish Federation also called for the cancellation of Russia's matches in the play-off.
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