Moscow set for fan invasion

“The city of Moscow has taken every measure possible to ensure comfortable conditions for the thousands of international fans. For us this is an absolute priority,” Moscow deputy mayor Valery Vinogradov said.

Arrangements are complicated by a diplomatic row between Moscow and London over the 2006 murder in London of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko. The dispute has affected the issuing of some types of entry visa.

Chelsea and United have both been allocated 21,000 tickets for the match at the Luzhniki stadium. Special measures at the Russian embassy in Britain are in place to ensure speedy visas for fans to travel, Russian officials have said.

FANS WAIT

“Thanks to a decision by the (Russian) Foreign Ministry, the organising committee has arranged to invite fans on the basis of a valid ticket and a passport,” said Alexei Sorokin, the Russian Football Association’s project manager for the final.

“And as soon as it is approved by the competent authority, we are expecting a further simplification of the visa process,” Sorokin said.

UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, said it wanted fans using official charter flights to be able to go to the final without a visa.

“We are thinking that probably the Russian government would approve such a measure during the weekend and we could announce it on Monday, but again, this is nothing official,” UEFA spokesman William Gaillard told Reuters on Friday.

“Our advice to supporters would be to wait until Monday and anyway, try to use the clubs’ charter flights, which would make their life a lot easier.”

Vinogradov said special measures were being taken to transport fans from three of the city’s airports in 700 buses to and from the stadium.

“We have set up so that the buses will visit all of Moscow’s tourist attractions, and have organised a special ‘Festival of Football’ on Red Square,” he said.

The buses will serve as a place for fans to rest, Vinogradov said, as the match kicks off at 22:45 local time (1845 GMT).

“Given such a long interval between fans’ arrival and the start of the match, we have arranged for the buses to stop for lunch and a place to rest,” he said.

KNOCKED OUT

He added the city had met all of UEFA’s conditions for providing sufficient lodging for fans.

“Many of the (hotel) rooms were booked by quarter- and semi-finalist teams that were knocked out. Now that they are gone I am sure that rooms will free up for those who wish to stay for two or three days in Moscow.”

Representatives from the teams were scheduled to tour Luzhniki stadium on Friday. Vinogradov said turf has been shipped in from Slovakia and was now being installed.

Russian officials have already said they will allow some flights from Britain to fly into Moscow’s third airport, Bykovo, to comply with a UEFA requirement that opposing fans arrive separately.

The city’s metro will also run an extra three hours into early hours of the morning after the game, the first Champions League final between two English sides.

In another test for the strained diplomatic relations between Moscow and London, thousands of Russian fans are expected to head to the English city of Manchester for the UEFA Cup final on May 14.

Zenit St Petersburg booked a place in the final on Thursday by beating favourites Bayern Munich.

Starting this weekend, British consular staff in Russia will be running a round-the-clock operation to process the visa applications from Russian fans planning to watch the game, a British official said.