By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent, in Manchester
April 11 – Russian football may have been blighted by hooliganism, racism and other misdemeanours on and off the field, but the whole image of the country will have changed by the time the World Cup takes place, said Alexander Djordjadze, deputy CEO of Russia’s World Cup organising committee, speaking at the Soccerex conference in Manchester today.
Djordjadze confirmed that fans attending the World Cup will not need visas if they have tickets and will be able to travel for free by public transport. “The visa agreement is totally unprecedented for Russia,” he said. “It didn’t come from nowhere. It was tested during the Champions League final of 2008 in Moscow and went very smoothly. Of course it will be different in 2018 but by that time hopefully the whole question of visas will be history anyway.”
Such is the sensitivity surrounding World Cup hosting operations that it is understood Djordjadze had to get FIFA permission to speak at Soccerex in place of his boss Alexei Sorokin, who had to pull out because of World Cup business back home. As a result, he declined to take any questions from delegates. Nor was he available to speak to reporters.
He did make a point, however, of telling the floor that the clichéd image of Russia as a country rife with political corruption and mafia-led crime was misplaced.
“The world is imprisoned, if you like, by old clichés,” said Djordjadze. “Before 1991 it was all about the KGB and authoritarian regimes. Now, we have a different culture apparently – oligargs and uncontrollable rule by tycoons. These are just myths and through the World Cup we want to change these perceptions and open up Russia big time. The world will see a different Russia.”
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