Fans call for boycott of Poland – Slovakia match

From: Polskie Radio
Polish football fans are planning a protest against the Polish FA with a boycott of the match with Slovakia on 14 October.

The organizers of the protest want to demonstrate a lack of support towards PZPN, the governing body of football in Poland, which according to its numerous critics is obsolete and harmful to the progress of the game. They stress that they want to protest merely against PZPN, and not Polish team, its new coach Stefan Majewski or anyone else.

The boycott would have remained as an obscure idea of a few desperate fans, if it hadn’t been for Jerzy Dudek who expressed his opinion on it and paradoxically promoted the idea. Dudek, Polish goalkeeper who has been recalled to Poland’s national team, claims that the idea of protest is good, but it should be conducted by other means. “If fans want to protest against PZPN in a different way, I’d support them, but I can’t accept the idea of boycott. We need fans’ support,” said Dudek.

Critics have along complained of the lack of a will to tackle corruption within Polish football. They also point to lack of investment in the game and a failure to get behind the previous coach, Leo Beenhakker in the middle of qualifying games for the World Cup in South Africa next year.

The match against Slovakia is all but academic as the chances of Poland reaching the finals in 2010 are mathematically slim following a poor run of form in the last few matches in Group 3, against Northern Ireland and Slovenia.