In an exclusive interview with state broadcaster TVP Sport, Rybus shared his side of the story, revealing the personal and family reasons behind his decision to stay, a choice that led to intense criticism and ended his tenure with the national team.
Unlike other Polish footballers who left Russia following the invasion, Rybus transferred from Lokomotiv Moscow to Spartak Moscow, before joining Rubin Kazan. The 34-year-old footballer has been playing in Russia since 2012, with a short break for an unsuccessful tenure at Olympique Lyon.
He told TVP Sport: "With my actions, I do no harm to anyone," emphasizing his deep-rooted connection to Russia where he's built a life with his Russian wife and two children over a decade. "In fact, it was in Russia that I became a real man … Leaving it all overnight was not so easy," Rybus confessed.
The backlash was immediate, with netizens labeling him a "traitor" and suggesting he'd "sold out". Russia’s aggression in Ukraine apparently remains a taboo topic in his household. "We don't talk about it at all... Like all reasonable people, I would prefer the world to be at peace," he stated.
“We don't talk about it at all. Even at the beginning it sometimes happened, because it is known that for everyone what is happening in Ukraine was a shock, but later we decided to avoid this topic. It may surprise someone, but we don't have Russian TV in our apartment. Polish, by the way, neither. We have a TV, but we only watch Netflix, YouTube on it," Rybus stated.
"I look into Twitter, but I try to avoid war topics," he said.
He highlighted one moment when the former Legia Warsaw player thought about leaving the country: "When the Prigozhin rally on Moscow was underway. Lana [his wife] and the kids were in the capital, and I was in Kazan. We were all full of fear," Rybus recounted.
(jh)
Source: Polskie Radio 24