Ufa fearing forfeit over visa trouble
FROM BACK PAGE campaign. Because of the short turnaround from their game in Luxembourg against Progres Niederkorn on Thursday, they don’t have enough time for the entire team to be issued visas by the normal process.
They are desperately hoping for their application to be fast tracked but that may not be possible.
Just last week, Russian cyclist Igor Frolov was unable to compete at the European Championships in Glasgow because he didn’t give himself enough time to get a UK visa.
And Spartak Moscow were unable to send a youth team to the Milk Cup tournament in Northern Ireland because of new visa restrictions.
Steven Gerrard is hoping Ufa unravel the red tape because he wants Rangers to win the tie on the pitch.
The Light Blues boss said: “I heard about it just before the game so we’ll have to see how it pans out.
“I hope they get their visas, I hope they come because I can’t wait to walk out at Ibrox with it bouncing and ready for another performance.”
Ufa played against Dinamo Moscow yesterday in the Russian capital and are set to plead with the UK Embassy in the city today to speed up their application.
Club president Shamil Gazizov admitted: “We are actively engaged in trying to obtain British visas but everyone must understand this is a very difficult and challenging situation.
“We will go to the British Embassy. We hope they can accelerate the process but we’ll know for certain on Monday.
“We’ve been told even the accelerated process takes a minimum of five days so that would not be enough time for us.”
UK and Russia tensions have led to a tightening of visa applications between the countries and the process has been significantly lengthened.