Poland FA and players refuse to play World Cup match with Russia

Poland will not play its football World Cup qualifier against Russia next month following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the president of Poland's Football Association, Cezary Kulesza, and players including captain Robert Lewandowski 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.

"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."

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.

Polish national team players also took to social media to express their support for the move.

"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."

National team captain Lewandowski took it to Twitter and wrote: "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."

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.