“You have to call it evacuation.” Polish volleyball player and coaches fled Ukraine after the invasion

Due to the invasion, sport stopped in the attacked country. Even if the volleyball league was suspended, foreign players began to make decisions about leaving the country immediately. Two Poles were among them.

Szalpuk said he was safe. The Polish staff of his club also reached Poland from Ukraine

“Thank you for all the news. I’m already in Poland” – he published this message on Instagram shortly before midnight on Thursday. The host of the Ukrainian Epicenter-Podolany Horodok drove through the Ukrainian-Polish border by car, and the team staff also escaped – coach Mariusz Sordyl, physical preparation coach Andrzej Zahorski and statistics Kamil Sołoducha. Alen Didović, representing Bosnia and Herzegovina and playing for the same team as Szalpuk, also came to Poland.

Epicenter is a club from Gródek, 50 kilometers from the Polish border. The team in the Ukrainian Super League was unbeaten in 22 matches. The next matches will not take place, however, and the sport has been relegated to the background. On Thursday, all that mattered was that the Poles should be safely home. There were many problems on the way, but luckily everyone crossed the border and reached their homes.

– We had a meeting at the club, during which we expressed our willingness to leave, no problems were made – even before crossing the border. – The matter is serious, but personally I have not encountered dramatic situations related to hostilities. I don’t even think about what I will do in terms of sports in the country and how I will organize it all to keep in shape. For now, the most important thing is to safely return home – said the volleyball player.

PZPS helped with the evacuation. “Proof of the solidarity of the volleyball community”

– It has to be called evacuation – tells us the spokesman, Mariusz Szyszko. Poles from Epicenter-Podolany Horodok contacted the federation for help in crossing the border. PZPS made every effort and thanks to the help of many kind people it did everything necessary to be able to reach Poland quickly and without major problems. The action was coordinated by the PZPS Operational Director, Janusz Uznański.

“The several-hour campaign was a proof of the solidarity of the volleyball community, and it was also made possible by the participation of family members, friends and a group of kind people. at the border crossing point of Dołchobyczów, Dariusz Skotnicki and Jacek Lewońka – former volleyball players of AZS Olsztyn for invaluable, and in the case of Mr Skotnicki crucial, conceptual and logistic help, Wiesław Kozieł – member of the PLS Management Board for valuable support in relations with border services. ours, we do not forget about those who stayed in Ukraine “-

Świderski: The most important thing is the safety of our people not only in Ukraine, but also in Russian clubs

– They asked for help and it was given. We know what the situation is at the border. I was on the phone with people in Warsaw and we were all waiting for information that the case was over, that they were safe – the president tells us.

He also does not want to discuss other issues regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine for the time being. – I am, of course, very negatively surprised by the whole situation. But I am not concerned with what can be and what is. At this point I am not thinking about the World Cup or the League of Nations, because the most important thing is the safety of our people staying not only in Ukraine, but also in Russian clubs, in case it is necessary to intervene. This is what we have to deal with. It is known that we will be keeping an eye on the matches in Russia, but that is next. And then at the beginning we will deal with the matter of the Champions League, where it will face Dynamo Moscow, in which actions have already been taken by the club and inquiries addressed to CEV – says Świderski. We wrote more about the Kędzierzyn-Koźle game in Russia.

Szalpuk and the Polish staff headed by coach Sordyl came to Epicenter at the same time – in the second half of 2021 and started work at the beginning of this season. Artur Szalpuk is a 97-time world champion from 2018 and a former player of such clubs as Verva Warszawa, PGE Skra Bełchatów or Trefl Gdańsk. Before the Epicenter Mariusz Sordyl led Fenerbahce, the Polish junior national team and the Romanian senior team.