Advertisement

CSKA's Tosic misses Manchester City game due to visa problems

MOSCOW (Reuters) - CSKA Moscow midfielder Zoran Tosic was forced to miss his side’s Champions League game against Manchester City on Wednesday due to problems with his British visa.

The 27-year-old Serbian international, who moved to CSKA from Manchester United in 2010, was held at Manchester airport on Tuesday due to visa complications.

He was eventually allowed to join up with the squad and took part in their evening training session but on Wednesday he was forced to go back to the airport.

“From the start there were some inaccuracies as we asked that Tosic be given a transit visa and not a tourist visa,” CSKA director general Roman Babaev said in an interview with Championat.com.

“However, the British consulate told us that Serbian citizens do not need a tourist visa and can fly as transit passengers without having to get a visa and would instead by issued with one upon landing.”

Babaev said British immigration services received a number of questions from the Serbian consulate in the United Kingdom and from the Russian Embassy in London.

“They were not willing to come to a compromise. They even would not let Tosic attend the match as a spectator and made it clear that they wanted the Serbian international to leave Manchester before the match started,” Babaev added.

“The English always find something to complain about. Will we launch a protest? There is probably no point as it is too late, as it will not have an effect on the end result. However, this is a very unpleasant situation. I am sure that this would not have happened in any other country in Europe."

(Reporting by Dmitriy Rogovitskiy, editing by Ed Osmond)