After the Polish Football Federation announced on Saturday (26) that the country does not intend to face Russia in the European playoffs of the Qatar World Cup qualifiers, Sweden adopted the same position in protest of the invasion of Ukraine.
“Whatever FIFA decides, we will not play Russia in March,” Swedish federation president Karl-Erik Nilsson said in a statement.
The match between Poland and Russia was scheduled for March 24, in Moscow, for the playoff semifinals. Sweden will face the Czech Republic that day and, if they win, they would play on March 29 with the winners of the other semi-final, possibly the Russians.
The Swedish government also called on Saturday for Russia to be completely excluded from all sporting competitions as a measure against the attack on Ukraine.
Stockholm wants to convince the rest of the European Union countries to “boycott sporting ties” with Russia “while the invasion of Ukraine lasts”, announced Swedish Sports Minister Anders Ygeman.
Sweden proposes a boycott of all competitions planned in Russia and that no Russian athletes be allowed to participate in competitions on European soil.
The captain of the Polish national team, Robert Lewandowski, twice elected the best player in the world, supported the position of the Polish federation.
“It’s the right decision. I can’t imagine playing Russia in a situation of armed aggression in Ukraine,” he wrote on Twitter.
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