The Polish FA have said its national team will not play their upcoming World Cup qualifier against Russia, having urged FIFA to make a decision on the fixture in Moscow.
The Swedish FA have also announced that they will not participate in any potential match.
Poland are scheduled to travel to Russia on March 24, with either Sweden or Czech Republic then playing in Moscow on March 29, should Russia win.
Cezary Kulesza, the head of the Polish FA, told The Athletic: “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.
“This is the only right decision. We are in talks with the federations of Sweden and the Czech Republic to bring forward a common position to FIFA.”
Captain Robert Lewandowski was quick to back the decision to refuse to play Russia in their upcoming World Cup play-off.
Retweeting a post from Kulesza, the striker wrote: “It is the right decision! I can't imagine playing a match with the Russian National Team in a situation when armed aggression in Ukraine continues.
“Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this, but we can't pretend that nothing is happening.”
Swedish Football Association chairman Karl-Erik Nilsson said: “The illegal and deeply unjust invasion of Ukraine currently makes all football exchanges with Russia impossible. We therefore urge FIFA to decide that the playoff matches in March in which Russia participates will be cancelled. But regardless of what FIFA chooses to do, we will not play against Russia in March.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Thursday evening that: “We continue to monitor the situation. We will update on the World Cup qualifiers soon. We can take decisions immediately as soon as it’s needed.”
The Athletic understands that, although there have been conversations between the bodies, they have provided no formal feedback since Thursday evening’s council meeting.
The national associations of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic wrote an open letter to FIFA on Thursday afternoon asking for the games to be moved.
Their letter read: “Based on the current alarming development in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine including the security situation, the Football Associations of Poland, Sweden, and Czech Republic express their firm position that the play-off matches to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, scheduled for 24 and 29 March 2022, should not be played in the territory of the Russian Federation.
“The signatories do not consider travelling to Russia and playing football matches there. The military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences and considerably lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations.
“Therefore, we expect FIFA and UEFA to react immediately and to present alternative solutions regarding places where these approaching play-off matches could be played.”
The Athletic has approached FIFA for comment.
(Photo: Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
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