Former European Council President Donald Tusk taunted Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Monday over his alleged proposal to offer the national football team 30 million złoty (€6.4 million) if they qualified for the World Cup’s knockout stage.
According to Polish news website Wirtualna Polska, quoting “three independent sources,” Morawiecki made the promise before the World Cup, where Poland qualified from the group stage for the first time since 1986 — before losing to France on Sunday.
“30 million?! That’s a joke!” tweeted Tusk, a former prime minister who now heads the opposition party Civic Platform.
Müller denied that Morawiecki had promised bonuses for players, saying the report was based on “hearsay.” Instead, he said that during his chat with the national team, the prime minister promised a “special fund” to help develop youth football.
“The fund will be financed from various sources, including the state budget” and will be “larger” than 30 million złoty, Müller said.
