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Since Russia began its war on Ukraine, the sports world reacted to condemn these events and each federation migrated its competitions. The Polish national team is opposed to playing its play-off series for Qatar 2022, a similar measure adopted by the Euroleague basketball teams. Meanwhile, Manchester United is going the way of Schalke 04 and will drop its sponsor, the airline Aeroflot.
The war unleashed between Russia and Ukraine has drawn the eyes of the world in recent days and generated responses from entities from different fields that condemn the Russian position and show solidarity with the Ukrainian people. And in this line, sport is no exception.
Despite UEFA’s announcement last Friday, which made it mandatory for the Russian National Team to play the playoff phase for Qatar 2022 in a neutral setting, the Polish Football Federation (PZPN) rejected the possibility of facing Russia in any scenario and urged Sweden and the Czech Republic – the other members of the group – to join.
Through a statement on Twitter, Cezary Kulesza – the president of the PZPN – stated that his national team “has no intention of playing” the tie against Russia because of the war in Ukraine.
“This is the only correct decision. We are in talks with the Swedish and Czech federations to present a common position to FIFA,” he added.
The president’s message was shared by Robert Lewandowski, captain and figure of the Polish team, who agreed and supported the idea adopted by the authorities. “It’s the right decision,” he said.
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. Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this, but we can’t pretend that nothing is happening. https://t.co/rfnfbXzdjF
— Robert Lewandowski (@lewy_official) February 26, 2022
“I cannot imagine playing a match with the Russian national team in a situation where the armed aggression in Ukraine continues. Russian footballers and fans are not responsible, but we cannot pretend that nothing is happening, ”he synthesized on his Twitter account.
Juventus’ Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny was more blunt in an Instagram post, saying he refuses to “play against players who choose to represent the values and principles of Russia.” “I refuse to represent Poland on the field and listen to the Russian anthem,” he added.
Minutes later, the Swedish Federation – Russia’s potential rival in the playoffs– joined Poland and declared that the national team will also not play no matter where it takes place.
Karl-Erik Nilsson, president of the association, called the invasion of Ukraine “illegal and profoundly unjust.” “We urge FIFA to decide that the playoff matches in March in which Russia participates are cancelled,” he closed.
The UEFA playoff series will begin on March 24 and end on the 29th of the same month with a view to defining the three remaining places for this year’s World Cup.
Tournaments leave Russia
After UEFA’s announcement about the change of final venue of the Champions League, which exchanged Saint Petersburg for Paris, and the loss of Spartak Moscow’s location for the Europa League, there are several disciplines that adopted the same measure and migrated their competitions or suspended games involving Russian teams. Formula 1 has also canceled the Russian Grand Prix in September.
The Euroleague, the highest continental basketball competition, decided that all the matches that were going to be played on Russian soil will be moved to neutral venues after “strongly condemning” the events that occurred in the last few hours.
For now, this weekend’s matches against CSKA Moscow, Zenit St. Petersburg and UNICS Kazan have been suspended, but away matches are still scheduled.
Decisions of the 18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague teams
— Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) February 25, 2022
The decision will also occupy the European Championship clubs, although it only affects Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. The objective, as explained by the Euroleague, is “to protect the integrity of the competitions and the integrity of players, coaches and fans without taking the slightest risk.”
Meanwhile, the Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev (7th in the ATP ranking) gave a message of support to Ukraine after winning in the semifinals of the Dubai Tournament. “No war please,” he wrote about a camera marker, a traditional procedure after a tennis match.
In addition, next week’s Moscow Challenger was suspended by the ATP to preserve “the safety of the players”. The matchup between Ukraine and Barbados for the Davis Cup was moved to Turkey.
For its part, after the International Olympic Committee urged sports associations to cancel their events in Russia and Belarus, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) announced the cancellation of the World Water Polo League, the World Series of Artistic Swimming and Diving planned in Russia in the months of March and April.
While the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced its decision to change the venue of the 44th Chess Olympiad, which had been designated to Moscow between July 26 and August 8.
Manchester United cancel contract with sponsor
The ‘Red Devils’ followed in the footsteps of Germany’s Schalke 04, which dropped its sponsorship with Russian gas giant Gazprom last Thursday, and will terminate its advertising with Aeroflot airlines in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The airline has officially handled United’s European transfers since 2013, but this week they used a different one to travel to Madrid for the Champions League game against Atletico. This measure comes after the British government closed the airspace for Russian planes, including Aeroflot.
“Due to the events in Ukraine, we have ended our sponsorship with Aeroflot. We understand the concerns of fans around the world and extend our best wishes to those affected by this situation,” Manchester United said in a statement.
with EFE