Maciej Rybus will not be in the World Cup squad for Poland after the defender signed a contract with Russia’s Spartak Moscow, the Polish FA (PZPN) has announced.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, most of the foreign players have left the country but the 32-year-old left-back has decided to remain there, signing a two-year contract with Spartak after a five-year spell at another Russian club Lokomotiv.
Maciej Rybus has represented Poland 66 times.
Poland is a staunch ally of Kyiv and has been one of Ukraine’s biggest financial supporters since the Feb. 24 invasion.
Russia’s actions prompted FIFA and UEFA to ban Russia’s local and international teams from all competitions, resulting in their expulsion from this year’s World Cup.
Ironically, it was Poland’s captain Robert Lewandowski who was the one of earliest players to refuse to take the field against Russia in protest if the governing bodies did not act.
“The coach of the Polish national team, Czeslaw Michniewicz, talked to Maciej Rybus, who was currently staying in Poland after the training camp of the national team ended last week,” PZPN said in a statement.
“The coach informed the player that due to his current club situation, he would not be called up for the September training camp of the national team and would not be considered for the team that would go to the World Cup in Qatar.
Poland will face Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina in the group stage of the World Cup, which kicks off on Nov. 21.
