Mark updates on the decision to move the final from Saint Petersburg to Paris. There is 1:11.
Cezary Kulesza, president of the Polish soccer federation, said on Saturday that Poland will not play Russia in the World Cup qualification match.
Russia will face Poland on March 24 in a match that will determine who will play Sweden or the Czech Republic in the Path B final on March 29 in the World Cup playoffs.
Kulesza made the announcement on the social networking site, saying that Poland was in talks with other federations to present a unified position to the world governing body.
Kulesza wrote that the move was prompted by theescalation of the aggression.
Robert Lewandowski said it was the right decision. I can't imagine the Russian National Team playing a match in a situation like that. Russian football players and fans are not responsible for this.
Poland had previously said they didn't want to play the semifinal in Moscow.
The Football Associations of Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic have called for a World Cup playoff against Russia to be held outside of the country.
The Football Associations of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic wrote a letter to the General Secretary of the sport's world governing body, asking for help in dealing with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The people who signed this appeal do not want to travel to Russia to play football. Our national football teams and official delegations are at grave risk due to the military escalation that we are observing.
We expect the two organizations to come up with alternative solutions for where these playoff matches could be played.
In a statement on Thursday, the sport's governing body said it hopes for rapid cessation of hostilities and peace in the country.
Violence is not a solution and all parties need to restore peace through dialogue. The people affected by this conflict are being supported by FIFA.
Information from AP was used.
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