A Polish coach held a thorough talk with Rybus after last week’s training camp. The coach explained that, given his current role at the club, Rybus will not be called up for the upcoming September national team camp, nor will he be part of the squad assembled for the World Cup in Qatar, according to the Polish Football Federation.
Rybus has not been a central figure for Poland recently. At Euro 2020, played in 2021 because of the pandemic, the defender appeared in one match and provided one assist in the loss to Slovakia, a 1-2 result for Poland.
During the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Rybus played in one full match against Andorra in November. Overall, he started four qualifying games, including both matches with Andorra and fixtures against Great Britain and Albania.
Rybus also missed the Nations League fixtures in June, where Poland beat Wales 2-1, suffered two heavy losses to Belgium (1-6 and 0-1), and drew with the Netherlands 2-2.
Alexander Mostovoy, formerly of Spartak Moscow, told socialbites.ca that removing Rybus from the squad should not disrupt Poland’s plans. He stated that Rybus is not a key player for the national team and suggested the decision would not weaken the squad.
Mostovoy noted that Rybus has known for some time what his situation is. He was surprised by Rybus signing with Spartak, but emphasized that the move makes sense given his long tenure in Moscow, his Russian wife, and the difficult choices involved. He added that the side with the strongest support should be Rybus’s and said he supports Rybus during this period.
Valery Gladilin, a former Spartak coach, believes the player should not be blamed for his future choices. He argued that the decision to stay or leave is personal and that the national team’s call is separate from a club contract. If Rybus leaves, the legal and FIFA implications will be handled as needed. Gladilin stressed that a footballer should focus on playing rather than political issues, and that the situation does not rest on the player alone.
Spartak responded calmly, stating that they cannot comment on the federation’s decisions. The club confirmed that Matsey had signed a contract and that Spartak believes in him as he prepares for the season’s start. The press service added that the matter at hand concerns Rybus, while no new statements were issued about other players like Krychowiak or Szymanski at that time.
Reports noted that Poland’s Sebastian Szymanski and Grzegorz Krychowiak were competing in the Russian Premier League, yet no final decision had been made about their national team fate. Jakub Kwiatkowski, a press officer for the Polish national team, indicated that there were no further comments about those players at that moment.
It is recalled that on March 24, Poland had been slated to play Russia in the World Cup qualifying playoff semifinal, but a February 26 statement announced that the match would not take place due to events surrounding Ukraine. Similar decisions were taken by the Swedish and Czech federations in parallel matches. UEFA subsequently barred Russia from all international fixtures, and Poland reached the final, defeating Sweden to secure a place at the World Cup in Qatar.
Poland has not been the only national team to omit a player due to a career in Russia. The Ukraine side first used this approach after the 2014 events. The latest example involves Yaroslav Rakytsky, who moved from Shakhtar Donetsk to Zenit St. Petersburg in 2019 and faced domestic criticism, ultimately losing his place in the national team and retiring in November 2019.
Anatoliy Timoshchuk joined the Ukrainian Football Federation Executive Committee in 2017 but was expelled soon after. He then joined Mircea Lucescu at a St. Petersburg club as an assistant. There is also a counterexample: Oleksandr Zinchenko, who made his national team debut on October 10, 2015 in a match against Spain while still with FC Ufa, later rose to prominence with Ukraine.