Russia faced up to the daunting challenge today of coping with the biggest English invasion of Moscow in history. Officials were scrambling to organise measures to deal with about 50,000 rival fans flooding into the Russian capital for the first all-English final in the Champions League. Each team have been allocated 21,000 tickets and thousands more fans will attempt to buy others on the black market.

Yuri Luzhkov, the Mayor of Moscow, sparked confusion by saying that supporters with a valid passport and match ticket would get special dispensation to cross the Russian border without a visa. The Russian Foreign Ministry immediately contradicted him, insisting that fans get a visa at the Russian Embassy in London before travelling to the final on May 21.

But The Times has learnt that high-level discussions are taking place within the Russian Government over scrapping visas for fans as a gesture of goodwill at a time when political relations with Britain are at their worst since the end of the Cold War. The move would also avert any diplomatic incident if the Russian Embassy in London failed to cope with as many visa applications in three weeks as they normally handle in a year.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that it will waive the usual requirement for visitors to produce an invitation letter with their applications. “Visas will be issued by the Russian Embassy in London on the production of a valid passport, completed application form and a copy of the match ticket,” he said.

Russia was stung when Britain imposed tighter visa regulations on government officials last July in the row over President Putin's refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoy to stand trial for the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the dissident former spy poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 in London.

It could not resist a dig now that English fans are desperate to get into Russia. An embassy spokesman said: “We are convinced that football lovers from both countries would have only benefited had the United Kingdom government not decided in July 2007 to suspend negotiations with Russia on a bilateral agreement easing visa regulations and toughen the approach toward Russian citizens applying for British visas.”

Moscow City Council is putting a massive transport and security operation in place. Alexei Sorokin, project manager at the council's international department, told The Times that officials planned to fly rival supporters into different airports. Charter flights carrying one club's fans will fly to Sheremetyevo in the north of Moscow, while the other finalists' supporters will go to Domodedovo in the south.

Sorokin said that 700 buses would ferry fans directly to Luzhniki Stadium, where the final will be played in front of 69,500 spectators. Entertainments will be organised in the “fans zone” at the complex, which staged the 1980 Olympic Games.

Fans will have their tickets scanned as they enter the grounds and will be warned not to leave again or face being barred from returning for the match. A “Festival of Champions” will take place in Red Square to entertain fans who arrive before match day.

Police face the daunting task of keeping rival English fans apart and preventing Russian football hooligans from taking the opportunity to “test” themselves against the visitors. Russian hooligan “firms” model themselves on their English counterparts and even have a website that catalogues clashes at local league games. “There is no history of rivalry between fans of English and Russian clubs, so we don't expect any particular problems. But the police are looking out for that and if there is any indication of it, we can prevent it,” Sorokin said.

Authorities will keep order by swamping Moscow with police, including the feared Omon riot squads. About 6,000 were on duty when Russia played England at the Luzhniki Stadium in a European Championship qualifier last October. Only 4,500 England fans made the journey to Moscow for that match. There were no arrests, although four supporters required hospital treatment after assaults.