Poland refuses to play Russia in World Cup qualification playoff match after invasion of Ukraine

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CNN
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The Polish national team will not face Russia in a crucial 2022 World Cup qualification playoff match in March because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

cnn.com
Poland refuses to play Russia in World Cup qualification playoff match after invasion of Ukraine
The Polish national team will not face Russia in a crucial 2022 World Cup qualification playoff match in March because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
11:22 AM · Feb 26, 2022

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/26/football/poland-football-russia-ukraine-world-cup-spt-intl/index.html


(CNN)The Polish and Swedish national teams will not face Russia in a crucial 2022 World Cup qualification playoff matches in March in protest at Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The president of Poland's football association Cezary Kulesza announced the news on Saturday.
"No more words, 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 against Russia," he tweeted.

"We are in talks with (Swedish) and (Czech) federations to bring forward a joint statement to FIFA."

Poland was due to travel to Moscow to face Russia on Thursday, March 24, while Ukraine was scheduled to travel to face Scotland on the same day.

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

And the Swedish Football Association (SVFF) said on Saturday its board had decided that its men's national team "will not play a possible playoff match against Russia -- regardless of where the match is played.

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