Polish football club Wisla Krakow has said they will forfeit Saturday’s scheduled league match at Slask Wroclaw after the home side informed them that no away fans would be allowed to attend.
The game is scheduled to kick-off at 5.30pm local time (4.30pm BST) on March 7, but the president of Wisla has said the club “will remain in Krakow and not participate” after home side Slask cited security concerns over away fans attending.
Jaroslaw Krolewski, Wisla president, said on Friday: “Wisla will not send its employees to a match where decisions are made outside the principles of transparency and fair play. This decision is irrevocable and non-negotiable.”
Slask published a statement on Friday to say the club’s decision to ban Wisla fans was “based on applicable law” surrounding match security and it was “prepared to defend the decision” to the Polish Football Association (PZPN).
The club also said they “ensure the safety of Wisla’s team, staff and management” and insisted they are preparing as normal for the match to be played. “The absence of an organised group of visiting fans in the stands does not in any way impact the security of the event.”
On Friday afternoon, Slask were still advertising ticket sales for the game, but added: “In the event of any official information about the cancellation of the meeting, we will inform you immediately.”
The Athletic has contacted the PZPN for comment on possible sanctions for the clubs should the game not be played.
Peter Moore, Wisla’s minority owner and former Liverpool CEO, told The Athletic: “We decided the sacrifice is worth it to try and ignite a conversation about Polish football.
“There is nothing that has taken place this season to justify a ban. Safety and inclusion should co-exist here. This is not a decision by the Polish FA or the local police force to say they cannot handle organised away fans.
“We decided that the sacrifice is worth more than one game and attempt to exert change. Football without fans has no future.”
Wisla are one of Poland’s most followed clubs, with an average attendance of 26,000 in the second division (Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Wisla president Krolewski said the club “tried everything” to work on a resolution before taking the decision to forfeit the game. “We worked on relocating the match, respecting sponsors, the competition’s integrity, mediation possibilities, and available legal remedies.
“I even offered the PZPN that we would cover the costs of relocating the match and take on the financial responsibility associated with changing the date. This would allow the situation to be calmly resolved. The decision was and remains with PZPN.”
The club’s fan-representative body Socios Wisla Krakow described the move to ban away fans as “unequal treatment of Wisla’s fans” and said it supported the decision of the club not to fulfill the fixture as a result.
Wisla captain Angel Rodado replied to the fan statement by sharing on his social media: “As a team, the place where we can contribute the most is on the pitch, we always want to play.
“On the other hand our fans are the most important for us and we can’t imagine our football without them. We are always together.”
Wisla are currently top of I liga, Poland’s second division, and are nine points clear of second-place Polonia Warsaw. Slask are sixth, in a promotion play-off spot. The top two sides are automatically promoted to the Ekstraklasa, Poland’s top flight.
Wisla are one of Poland’s most successful clubs with 14 league titles, one fewer than Legia Warsaw, but their most recent title was in 2011. The club were relegated in 2022, the first time this century.
Slask are two-time Polish champions, and most recently won the top division in 2012.