A TURF war has broken out between Rangers’ Euro rivals Progres Niederkorn and the city of Luxembourg over the venue for the second leg of their Europa League clash.
Niederkorn thought a deal was done to use the national stadium as they would find it almost impossible to hold the match at their Jos Haupert ground in Differdange as it is falls short of a number of UEFA criteria.
There is a standing arrangement in Luxembourgish football that all of their European representatives can play their matches at the Josy Barthel Stadium which holds 8000.
Read more: Rangers DoF Mark Allen is a 'man of vision', says Ibrox Managing Director Stewart Robertson
However, after complaints about the state of the surface in Luxembourg’s last match, the city of Luxembourg made arrangements for the turf to be ripped up.
A foreign company is due to arrive before the end of the month to begin work on laying a new surface which would have time to bed in before Luxembourg meet Belarus on August 26.
Niederkorn are due to host Rangers on Tuesday, July 4 – five days after they meet at Ibrox in the first leg.
But now they are wondering where the game will be played as a stalemate has developed.
It is understood that president Fabio Marochi has made a personal plea to the city of Luxembourg to delay the work on the pitch but as yet he has not received the news he wants to hear.
Read more: Rangers DoF Mark Allen is a 'man of vision', says Ibrox Managing Director Stewart Robertson
Marochi knows that his club can make some sizeable profits from selling out the national stadium.
He knows the demand from Rangers supporters is huge as the Light Blues head back into European competition for the first time in six years and Niederkorn are also eying a lucrative TV deal.
However, right now Niederkorn are unclear where the game will be played which will also affect Rangers’ security arrangements as the club always scopes out away venues in advance.
Marochi is due to have more discussions with city officials today.
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