“Football was sacrificed to politics”: Rybus was suspended from playing for the Polish national team due to the decision to stay in Russia

“You can give him a Russian passport under an accelerated program”

Maciej Rybus paid a serious price for his decision to stay in Russia.

In the summer, the defender's contract with Lokomotiv ended, but he did not return to his homeland, but signed a two-year agreement with Spartak.

Just a week after that, the Polish Football Association announced that the athlete would not be called up to the national team.

In a statement on the PZPN official website, it is said that the national team coach Cheslav Mikhnevich had a conversation with the ward and said that he would not invite him to the September training camp and would not count on the formation of the squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

It is emphasized that the reason for this step was "the current club situation of the player."

In turn, the press officer of the national team Jakub Kwiatkowski explained why the federation in this case is not threatened with sanctions from UEFA and FIFA.

“All challenges have always been personally supervised by the head coach.

As for whether his verdict can be changed, I am not authorized to talk about this, ”R-Sport quotes him as saying.

In addition to Rybus, there are two more White Eagles players in the RPL clubs.

The rights to Sebastian Szymanski belong to Dynamo, and to Grzegorz Krychowiak belong to Krasnodar.

But according to the press attache, the restriction does not apply to them.

And if the former most likely leaves Russia, the latter recently said that, on the contrary, he was forced to return to the country and begin preparations for the new season with the southerners, since he is bound by contractual obligations with them.

Maciej himself refused to comment on the PZPN message, but Spartak supported him.

“We cannot discuss the decisions of the Polish federation.

Matsey signed an agreement with Spartak, the club believes in him, and the player himself is preparing to start training camps together with the team, ”Metaratings quotes Dmitry Zelenov, head of the Muscovites press service.

And in the State Duma, they even called for a foreigner to be given a domestic passport, since he has been performing in the RPL for more than a year and is married to a Russian woman.

“As an exception, you can issue him a passport under the accelerated program.

Unless, of course, Maciej makes a request.

I urge officials of all countries to treat their citizens with care and attention, regardless of the political situation in the world, ”said Dmitry Svishchev, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports.

A successful career in Russia and a happy marriage with a native of North Ossetia

At the same time, Rybus was a key performer for the Polish national team for many years.

He made his debut in its composition back in 2009 at the age of 20.

Since then, the defender has played 66 matches for the team, in which he scored two goals.

Together with the White Eagles, he took part in the final stages of three major tournaments at once: Euro 2012 and Euro 2020 and the 2018 World Cup.

As part of the World Cup, he came to Russia and fully played two meetings: with Senegal and Colombia, but failed to contribute to the Poles' exit from the group.

Three years later, they held two confrontations in St. Petersburg at the championship of the continent, but lost to Slovakia and Sweden and were again left without a playoff.

Matsey entered the field only in the first match and scored an assist.

However, after the championship, he rarely received practice.

In qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, the 32-year-old experienced performer has only three games to his credit.

In the current year, he was no longer called up to the national team.

Thus, Rybus would hardly have got into the application for the world championship in terms of sports performance.

And at his age, going to the national team for a place on the bench, given the current difficulties with logistics, does not make sense.

After 30, footballers often end their international careers in order to spend more time with their families, and Maciej himself is probably also happy with this opportunity.

The decision of the defender to stay in Russia is absolutely logical, because here he spent most of his career.

In 2012, he moved from Legia to Akhmat and played for Grozny for 4.5 years.

Then he spent a season in the French Lyon, but in the summer of 2017 he returned, signing an agreement with Lokomotiv.

In total, Maciej played 245 matches for domestic teams in all tournaments, and in terms of the number of meetings in the Premier League (203), he is the record holder among compatriots.

In Russia, the Pole found happiness on the personal front as well.

As a railroad player, he met a native of North Ossetia, Lana Baimatova, and began dating her.

In 2018, young people played a wedding, which took place in Vladikavkaz.

The couple has two sons, Robert and Adrian.

It is curious that the defender's agent Mariusz Pekarski explained the client's refusal to return to his homeland as a possible persecution of the family.

According to him, the children of a football player could be subjected to peer pressure.

"Has nothing to do with football"

According to RT experts, in Poland they acted strangely and ugly in the situation with Rybus.

So, the former goalkeeper of the Russian national team Vladimir Gabulov noted that the Poles inflicted a reputational blow on themselves back in the spring, refusing to play with Valery Karpin's wards at the junction of the 2022 World Cup, and now they have aggravated it.

“It is difficult to comment on anything here, because it has nothing to do with football.

Some kind of absurdity ... Interventions from FIFA and UEFA in this situation should not be expected.

They initially showed that they are not independent organizations and are under a clear defined influence.

Now they are trying to justify their actions with illogical explanations.

We used to say that sport is out of politics, but now it is completely different.

Sports are used in the political interests of certain countries,” Gabulov complained.

At the same time, he supported the defender for the fact that he withstood enormous pressure, deciding to stay in the country that became his second home.

“I would like to thank him for not paying attention to all the dirt that is happening now.

It's hard to predict when this will end.

It is no coincidence that Vladimir Putin said that life will never be the same as before.

This also applies to sports.

We need to strategically develop our football in today's conditions so that the level of the game grows.

There is no need to wait for everything to return to normal, ”added Gabulov.

In turn, the well-known coach Rinat Bilyaletdinov was shocked that PZPN treats a man who faithfully served the local team for more than ten years in such a way.

“The fact that the Poles have sacrificed football for politics does not do them credit.

But what to do, such people.

For them, politics is more important than professionalism.

Thank you for being honest with your position.

Otherwise, they could hide behind some kind of rejuvenation of the composition, mocking Rybus.

He was directly told: "My friend, you are playing in the wrong country, so we do not invite you."

From the point of view of attitude towards Russia, the act of the Polish federation is not surprising.

It hasn't changed.

But they acted ugly with their player, ”the specialist emphasized.

In his opinion, now legionnaires, signing contracts with domestic clubs, should keep in mind that they are at risk of ceasing to receive calls to the national teams of their countries and make the appropriate choice.

The decision of the 32-year-old defender, he called completely justified and logical.

“Rybus can only support.

He stays in Russia and minds his own business.

And the fact that they did not call is not a problem.

Still, Maciej is already 32 years old, and he would hardly have taken part in the World Cup in Qatar.

But now he can easily go there as a tourist.

The athlete is understandable.

Spartak offered him good conditions.

Well, it turns out, for the sake of politics, he should have abandoned a solid contract at a top club?

The man made his professional choice.

I can say that now I treat Rybus with special sympathy.

He passed the test of strength and, despite the enormous pressure, remained in the RPL, ”summed up Bilyaletdinov.