Athletistic / Football. Rubin defender and former Polish national team player Maciej Rybus spoke about life in Russia. The Kazan club legionnaire recalled a call from Robert Lewandowski in February 2022.
“In Russia, no one oppresses Poles in the streets, no one points fingers at us. On Christmas Eve, I went to a Polish church in Moscow. This is the first time since I played in Russia. December 21, my father died, and something inside me pushed me to go… The mass took place in Polish, the majority in the church was Polish, even if there were many “foreigners there. So I’m not the only Pole in Russia. There are many here and everything is working normally.
I only had problems once, before the 2022 World Cup qualifier against Sweden. Robert Lewandowski called me and asked me if there was security in Moscow and if we should play Russia. Later we decided to boycott the match. We should have posted a photo saying we refused to play. I did not think then that I now live in Russia and share it too. At that moment, hatred arises from the other side. I received hundreds of messages. Fifteen minutes later I decided to delete this message,” Rybus said according to TVP Sport.
In February 2022, after the start of the SVO in Ukraine, the Polish national football team refused to play a qualifying play-off match for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with the Russian team. As a result, FIFA and UEFA sided with the Poles and suspended Russia and its clubs from all tournaments held under their auspices.
Source: Sport
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