Poland will not play a World Cup qualifying football match against Russia next month because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the president of Poland's Football Association, Cezary Kulesza, said on Saturday.
Kulesza said the association was in talks with its Swedish and Czech counterparts regarding playoff matches set for March to fill a slot for the World Cup.
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"In light of the escalation of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, the Polish national team is not going to play a match against Russian Republic," Kulesza said on Twitter.
"This is the only right decision. We are in talks with Swedish and Czech association to present a common position to FIFA."
Polish national team players also took to social media to express their support for the move.
Polish ace striker Robert Lewandowski took to Twitter to support this decision. He 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."
"It is not an easy decision, but there are more important things in life than football," Kamil Glik, Mateusz Klich, Matty Cash and others wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
"Our thoughts are with the Ukrainian nation and our friend from the national team, Tomasz Kedziora, who is still in Kiev with his family."
Russia is scheduled to host Poland in the semi-finals of its strand of the World Cup playoffs on March 24 and, if its team advances, is scheduled to host either Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 in the Path B final.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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