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Polish, Swedish and Czech Republics refuse to play World Cup qualifiers against Russia in March

25 February 2022 10:23 (UTC +04:00)

The Polish, Swedish, and Czech Football Associations are opposed to playing World Cup qualifiers next month on Russian soil after the nation's invasion of Ukraine, APA reports citing Euro Sport.

Russia are due to host Poland in World Cup play-off semi-finals on March 24th. Should they win they are currently scheduled to host either Sweden or Czech Republic on March 29th.

"The Football Associations of Poland (PZPN), Sweden (SvFF) and Czech Republic (FACR) express their firm position that the playoff matches... should not be played in the territory of the Russian Federation," they said in a joint statement.

"The military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences and considerably lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations."

The associations say they expect an immediate response from FIFA and UEFA.