Ukraine invasion: Poland refuses to play World Cup play-off match against Russia
By Russell Hope, news reporter
Poland has refused to play a World Cup play-off match against Russia next month because of the Ukraine invasion, according to the Polish FA.
The football association's president, Cezary Kulesza, said on Twitter: "No more words, time to act! Due to the escalation of the aggression of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine the Polish national team does not intend to play the play-off match against Russia."
Mr Kulesza said the Polish FA was in talks with its Swedish and Czech counterparts regarding play-off games set for March to fill a slot for the World Cup.
The move was welcomed by Poland's captain and record scorer, Robert Lewandowski, who said on Twitter: "I can't imagine playing a match with the Russian National Team in a situation when armed aggression in Ukraine continues."
More than 120,000 Ukrainian refugees have left the country since Russia began its invasion on Thursday, according to the UN.
Poland has taken in around 100,000, including 9,000 who arrived on Saturday, Poland's deputy interior minister Pawel Szefernaker has said, some on foot.
"Since 7am, the Ukrainian side has closed part of the lanes for cars and allowed pedestrian traffic. The queue on the Ukrainian side should decrease," Mr Szefernaker told reporters.
It's the latest sporting sanction imposed on Russia in the wake of the military offensive.
The Champions League final has been moved from St Petersburg to Paris by UEFA, which is also under pressure to end sponsorship from Russian energy giant Gazprom.
Manchester United have dropped Russian state airline Aeroflot as a sponsor.
Formula One has cancelled the Russian Grand Prix and the Haas F1 team's cars were stripped of the logo of Russian sponsor Uralkali in pre-season testing on Friday.
Key developments:
• Reports of fighting across the cities of Kyiv, Mariupol, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odessa
• UK intelligence sources say Russian rocket launchers also being used in Chernihiv and Kharkiv
• Mayor of Vasylkiv, south of Kyiv, claims it fought off Russian attempts to take airbase there overnight
• Russian military has also launched airstrikes close to Dnipro, Sky News correspondent John Sparks reports
• China, India and UAE abstain from draft UN Security Council resolution on crisis
• UK to impose direct sanctions on Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov imminently, while EU and US plan to freeze their assets
• Defence Secretary Ben Wallace agrees to sent frontline aid to Ukrainian forces along with 26 other countries
Source: Sky News
