The Polish Football Association (PZPN) informed that the Polish national football team will not play with Russia in the play-off match for promotion to the 2022 World Cup, which was planned for March 24 and was to be held in Moscow. Also, the Polish Volleyball Federation (PZPS) does not currently see the possibility of sports competition with Russian teams and countries supporting the Kremlin’s aggression.
Cezary Kulesza informed about the decision of the Polish Football Association on Saturday. “No more words, it is high time to act! Due to the escalation of the aggression of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine, the Polish national team does not intend to play the play-off match with the Russian national team. This is the only right decision” wrote the president of the Polish Football Association on Twitter. This is a common position of the Polish federation and the players of the Polish national team.
The footballers stated that it was not an easy decision, but there are things in life that matter more than football. “Today, the Ukrainian nation in the thoughts of every one of us”. They shared their position of solidarity in social media.
Due to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, PZPS President Sebastian Świderski wrote to the presidents of the International Volleyball Federation and the European Volleyball Confederation on behalf of the Union and the volleyball community in Poland.
“On behalf of the Polish Volleyball Federation, the Polish Volleyball community, due to the invasion of Ukraine, I declare that we do not currently see the possibility of sports competition with teams from Russia and countries supporting the Kremlin’s aggression” – wrote Świderski.
Russia is the host of this year’s volleyball world championships, where Polish volleyball players were to defend the title of the best team in the world. In March, the winner of the volleyball Champions League, the team of Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn Koźle was supposed to play two quarter-final matches with Dinamo Moscow.
The president of the PZPS motivated this position in terms of moral reasons and concern for the safety of Polish sportsmen. “We cannot remain indifferent to the unprecedented aggression against Ukraine today. At the same time, we would like to emphasize that we do not hold Russian athletes responsible for the actions of their state authorities, but we cannot remain indifferent to the victims of the conflict. Let us stand together in solidarity towards our friends from Ukraine emphasized Świderski.
Arkadiusz Słomczyński