The Russians return to competitions in Poland. “Ostracism is unjustified”

The Russian military invasion of Ukraine meant that the authorities of the Polish Motor Association (PZM) excluded Russian speedway riders from the extraleague. This also applied to those who had a Polish passport, thanks to which the punishment was not avoided, among others. Emil Sajfutdinow, five-time Polish team champion. Currently, he is a player of Apator Toruń, although due to sanctions he has not made his debut in this team yet.

Russians with Polish passports return to the extraleague. “You can’t bother these people, treat them differently”

Now it is known that PZM allowed the Russians with Polish passports to return to the league. In the opinion of Adam Krużyński, a member of the Supervisory Board of Apator, this is the right decision, which does not violate the law in force. – These people cannot be bitten, treated differently. Everyone can have an opinion about Russians, but the ostracism of Russian citizens who have become citizens of other countries who live in them is unjustified. In terms of sports, business and simply human – he said in an interview with .

The invasion significantly changed the perception of Russians in Poland. This may also apply to speedway riders who were previously valued by fans, but it is not known how they will be received after their return. – This is exaggerating the situation. We are talking about chauvinism and nationalism. These are phenomena that are not limited to stadiums. Outside of them, something can also happen. Two years ago, each of the Russians riding in Poland had the sympathy of our fans. I’m not saying that nothing has changed, but let’s not behave as if these people were standing near Donetsk with weapons, noted the Apator activist. According to him, the starts of Russian players in Poland can even be used to “change the views of Russians in small steps”.

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Krużyński announced that Emil Sajfutdinov would not apply for compensation due to his exclusion from the tournament. Other Russians also made a similar decision. – Looking at Emil’s attitude and how calmly he accepted all this and waited for changes, I am sure that there will be no unpleasant surprises here – he assessed. In his opinion, the situation of the players cannot be compared with what the inhabitants of Ukraine experience, but the exclusion turned out to be severe for them. “For them, last year was also a trauma,” he explained.

The first round of the extraleague in the 2023 season will take place on the weekend of April 8-9. Apator Toruñ will inaugurate the match with Stalą Gorzów Wielkopolski.