– I was informed today that during the inspection of the steel structure of the national stadium, a defect in one of the elements was detected, which, according to the contractor and the designer, prevents the use of the national stadium in any form until it is further diagnosed and possibly security solutions are applied – he informed at a press conference Kamil Bortniczuk. – Therefore, we have taken the only right decision in this situation to immediately close the national stadium – he stressed.
The Minister of Sports also indicated that he had convened a crisis management team in this file.
– In addition to solving the problems posed by this situation, in a few days the last match of the Polish national team against Chile was to take place in this facility before leaving for the World Cup in Qatar – reminded Bortniczuk. – Therefore, we met in PZPN with the president and other important people – he added.
The Polish Football Association has already published its announcement after this meeting.
– I wanted to reassure you that the match itself is not in danger. PZPN will communicate, perhaps even today, on which other stadium this match will take place – said the Minister of Sports.
– This defect seems to be so serious today that – at least until the defect is diagnosed more precisely – it prevents the use of the national stadium in any form – explained Minister Kamil Bortniczuk.
When asked about tickets purchased by fans, he replied that to his knowledge, PZPN had already informed that they would be issuing refunds. As he added, a new sales campaign will be carried out on the installation where the match will take place.
– This situation really shows that all the procedures worked as they should. All inspections were carried out in accordance with the schedule required by the Building Law – emphasized Bortniczuk.
He also pointed out that this year, in March, he ordered an additional examination, a thorough examination of the roof structure, due to the fact that the warranty expired after the 10-year period of use of this installation.
– This March inspection has not yet shown any drawbacks, it was done with exactly the same method by the same company. So, from March to today, something unfortunately happened there – he noted.
– The first information is that the crack we are talking about is growing relatively quickly over time, so we have taken the only right decision to close the national stadium until it can be used safely – underlined the sports minister.
RM, PAP
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