World Cup qualifiers: Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic tell Fifa they will not travel to Russia for play-offs

The invasion of Ukraine is already having significant knock-on effects in the sporting world

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A jointly signed statement from the Football Associations of Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic have called for Fifa and Uefa to find “alternative solutions” for the upcoming World Cup qualifer play-offs, with the three nations saying it is “impossible” for any of the scheduled games to take place in Russia.

Already there have been calls to strip Russia of hosting the Champions League final and remove the Russian Grand Prix from the Formula One calendar this year, in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s country launching an invasion of Ukraine.

Now, Uefa and Fifa need to work on finding a new location at short notice for the qualifiers next month, with all three nations refusing to entertain the prospect of travelling to Moscow.

The qualifying paths used in Europe to reach the 2022 Qatar World Cup means that only one of the four nations in each path will head to Qatar, with Russia due to face Poland on home soil and Sweden hosting Czech Republic. The winners of each game will then meet in Moscow according to the current plan, but a blunt statement left little doubt that new arrangements must be made.

That statement, posted by the Polish FA, 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 playoff 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 to this appeal 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 playoff matches could be played.”

Separately, the Swedish FA noted that they are awaiting instructions on how to proceed to plan for their game, but refused to entertain the prospect of heading to Russia if the current state of war remained.

“Swedish football is appalled by what we now see unfolding in Ukraine. The situation is extremely serious and the only thing we can hope for is that this unjust invasion will end as soon as possible. Our thoughts are with all those affected in Ukraine.

“We take part in the news reporting, as well as authorities and representatives of the government’s advice and recommendations. SvFF is also awaiting guidance from the international federations, UEFA and FIFA, on how Russia’s participation in international competitions will be handled.

“However, our own assessment is that, as the situation now stands, it will be impossible to play a possible play-off match for the World Cup in Moscow against Russia on March 29.”

Czech Republic’s national team Twitter account added:

“The football associations of the Czech Republic, Poland and Sweden demand moving the possible World Cup play-off match from Russia. All three associations made this common decision during Thursday’s meeting and informed both FIFA and UEFA about this requirement.”