Red Tape threat to FK Suduva’s date in Paradise

FOR the second week in a row, an Eastern European side is having trouble getting the necessary Visas to allow their party entry into the UK.

Last week there were doubts about whether Russian side UFA would be allowed into the country to play their UEFA Cup Play-off first leg at Ibrox, and the British Embassy in Moscow and UEFA Officials had to intervene to allow the UFA party to travel and the fixture to be fulfilled.

Now Celtic’s Lithuanian opponents SK Suduva are having similar problems for several members of their team and their manager Vladimir Cheburin who require Visas to enter the UK because of their nationality.

 

Affected are Kazakh Suduva’s manager Vladimir Cheburin, Serbian defended Aleksandar Zivanovic, Belarusian defender Vital Hayduchyk and Montenegrin midfielder Jovan Cadenovic.

Karolis Skinkys, a Director of Suduka, is working hard to try to resolve the problem but is facing an even tougher task that UFA had to deal with last week.

“It’s a very serious matter because if we have to travel to Glasgow without our manager and three of our first team players, it would be extremely difficult to achieve our goals,” Skinkys said.

“Visas are necessary for our non-European members of the travelling party and it is a very complicated matter.

“The problem is the company who process UK visas in Vilnius only works for two days a month.

“We submitted our application on 20 August and they have replied they cannot upload the documents until 28 August, from which is takes five working days to process, which is obviously no good for us.

“The Lithuanian Embassy in the UK have told us this is not their business and won’t get involved.

“The only alternative at the moment would be to go to Paris and try and get a fast-track visa, which we are not keen to do and doesn’t guarantee we will get them in time.

“We have consulted with Celtic and also AEK Athens, who were in a similar position to us with a few of their non-European players. The Greek Embassy in the UK ended up fixing it for them, but we’ve been told it is not an option for us.

“We’ve even tried contacting FC Ufa, who had similar problems when playing Rangers, but they got help from their Government and UEFA. Unfortunately, they haven’t responded to our communications so far.”

The Lithuanian Champions come to Glasgow needing to score after the first leg ended 1-1, giving Celtic the away goal advantage.

About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor, who has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

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