The U17 FIFAWorld Cup has been hit by a serious scandal that has seen four players banished from the national camp.
Poland’s preparations for the tournament have been marred after four of their players were banished from the team’s training camp after they were removed due to unsportsmanlike behaviour and violation of the regulations – having been caught with alcohol.
And the four departing players – Oskar Tomczyk, Filip Rozga, Jan Labedzki, and Filip Wolski – cannot be replaced due to FIFA ruling – meaning Poland now only have 14 outfield players to select from due to the regulations regarding replacements on the submitted player list.
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FIFA addressed the situation regarding the axed players, saying: “As per Article 27.3 of the tournament regulations, a player listed on the final list may be replaced by a player from the provisional list only in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the kick-off of their team’s first match.”
Poland U17 coach Marcin Wlodarski admitted he felt the team's scandal was a ‘personal failure’ of his. He said: "The players broke the rules and there was no other option but for them to leave the team. I see these boys as family, we spend a lot of time together. So I treat this as a personal failure of mine.
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"We cannot let such acts slide. I believe these boys will reflect on this, understand that their actions have consequences and re-join the team one day, just not anytime soon. I've spoken with the parents and everyone is disappointed.
"Everyone worked hard to get here, but we need to condemn this, because these things cannot happen, especially not on the national team. For each of these boys, I would have cut my hand off for them and now I wouldn't have a hand."
Poland played their opening tournament game on Saturday, falling to a 1-0 defeat against Japan, where they were able to name just six substitutes. They find themselves in one of the toughest groups in the tournament, alongside Senegal and Argentina – where all eyes will be on 15-year-old Senegal sensation Amara Diouf after he was called up to the senior squad in September.
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