As the Polish soccer team breaks through to the round of 16, a shocking internal dispute erupts. The trigger was the whim of team leader Michniewicz, who demanded that the prize money be doubled at a crucial time, and even suggested that the amount of money be determined by the number of minutes played. The players objected to this, and the conflict quickly escalated, leading to their elimination in the Round of 16.
It was reported that the Polish team managed to advance to the group stage by finishing second in the group, which was the best result achieved by the Polish team since 1986. For this reason, the Polish government decided to award 7.8 million pounds (approximately HK$74.1 million) in prize money to reward the team. However, the decision sparked a subsequent controversy.
In a meeting after the group stage exit, Mihnevis made a proposal to increase the percentage of bonuses for the coaching staff, and it was suggested that the bonuses should be distributed according to the players' playing time. This proposal sparked a heated discussion within the team.
Captain Robert Ljunduvski expressed his strong displeasure with the move by Mihnevs, arguing that the team should focus on preparing for the match instead of getting into a money dispute. Robert Ljundovsky also took issue with the doubling of bonuses and money for playing time.
A Polish international, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed, "We failed to reach an agreement and decided to revisit the matter after the World Cup. The topic was only discussed for five minutes and we stopped talking about it after that, but now we are being portrayed as greedy."
As further light was shed on the incident, other self-enriching behaviors by Mihnevs were also revealed, including living with family members for two days and the fact that players did not return home en masse after the team's exit, with only 14 internationals returning to Poland. All of these behaviors were extremely upsetting to the Polish FA.
