Visa fees scrapped for Zenit fans

This follows a decision by the Russian Foreign Ministry to allow British fans to enter Russia without a visa to watch Manchester United play Chelsea in the Champions League final in Moscow on May 21.

Zenit face Rangers in Manchester on May 14 in their first European final and expect around 7,000 Russian fans to travel with them. Regular entry six-month visas for Russians normally cost 65 pounds or around 3,000 roubles.

Visas will still be required to enter Britain and fans need to make an appointment at a 24-hour application centre by May 9 for an in-person interview to complete the process, the British embassy in Moscow said.

Manchester United and Chelsea expect more than 42,000 fans to travel to the final at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium.

(Reporting by Chris Baldwin, editing by Robert Woodward)