The all-English Champions League final will take place in Moscow May 21. Each club is allowed 21,000 tickets for its supporters, which means that over 40,000 English soccer fans are due to hit the Russian capital for the match.
"The Russian leadership has made the decision to permit English fans coming to Moscow for the Champions League match between Chelsea and Manchester United visa-free entry into the Russian Federation from 17 to 25 May 2008," a diplomatic representative said.
Fans should retain their match ticket which will serve as their visa entry, he added.
However, Alexei Sorokin, coordinating the Champions League in Russia, said the visa-free regime would only cover a 72-hour visit to the country, if fans planned to stay longer then they would either require a visa as usual or have to pay for an exit visa.
Alternatively visas could be obtained from the Russian National Tourist Office.
