The captain of Poland’s national men’s team has supported the decision to not play Russia in its World Cup qualifying match. Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski said “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.”
Earlier, Poland has said that it will not play their 2022 World Cup play-off with Russia in Moscow due to the Russian attack on Ukraine, said the president of the Polish football federation.
"The time for talking is over. It is time to act. Due to the escalation of the Russian Federation's aggression in Ukraine, the Polish team does not envisage playing the play-off against Russia," wrote Cezary Kulesza, saying it was the "only correct decision".
Russia has launched a war against Ukraine for three days now. On Saturday morning, heavy street fighting against Russian troops has been seen in Kyiv and officials urged the citizens to take immediate shelter. Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the US government’s request to evacuate the capital city Kyiv because it comes under a Russian attack.
According to a senior US intelligence official, when the US government asked to evacuate the capital city, the Ukraine President turned down the offer and said "I want weapons to fight."