According to FIVB, the Disciplinary Panel “has ruled that Polish national team player, Mr. Michal Kubiak, committed violations of the FIVB Disciplinary Regulations based on his public statements made about Iran during an interview on 26 May 2019.”
The panel has “accepted the sanction imposed on Mr. Kubiak by the Disciplinary Department of the Polish Volleyball Federation of a reprimand and six-match sanction, to be served during Week 3 and 4 of the VNL 2019, which it found to be in line with the FIVB Disciplinary Regulations.”
“Additionally, the FIVB Disciplinary Sub-Committee strongly recommended that the Polish Volleyball Federation require Mr. Kubiak to issue a written apology, which should be read by the announcer during the match between Poland and Iran during Week 3 of the Volleyball Nations League.”
Iran had earlier filed a complaint to FIVB against Kubiak for making abusive comments against the Iranian people.
The 31-year-old Polish had said that “They [Iranians] always insult us into the field and don’t respect us but play innocent. The Iranians think they are great and the best and we are the worst. But I believe that they are fatal, malicious and damned people. For me, this nation doesn’t exist, even though they proudly call themselves Persians, not Arabs. Sometimes we have to play with them, but for me, they don’t exist.”
This part of his comments was later removed from the interview.
MAH/PR