St Johnstone’s Europa League tie against FC Minsk this week looks like being played in front of an entirely partisan home crowd.
Due to visa difficulties, St Johnstone famously played the first tie in Belarus without a single travelling fan cheering them on.
The situation could be mirrored on Thursday night as even more stringent visa requirements keep the FC Minsk fans at home.
Saints supporters found it impossible to secure even express visas for the first leg tie in Belarus and similar problems are likely to be experienced by the away fans.
The team and officials travelled east without a single supporter and a spokeswoman for the UK Border Agency said that situation was likely to be replicated.
She could not comment on whether there had been applications from Belarus seeking entry to Scotland.
She did however add: “With very short notice and unless you paid for an enhanced service and hoped for the best it is very unlikely that fans would be able to secure a Visa in time to attend this match,” she said.
“Ordinarily it would take three weeks to progress a Visa application.”
She added: “Given the form St Johnstone have been in, fans from Belarus may be questioning whether it is worth making the trip.”
English speaking fans in Grodno, where the first leg was played, told members of the Saints party it was unlikely any of their number would travel to Scotland.
St Johnstone still anticipate that a bumper crowd will cheer them on as they bid to secure a glamour tie against a European giant.
Almost 8,000 fans celebrated as the Perth side saw off Rosenborg and the club are hopeful that even more will show their support as they bid to overcome FC Minsk.
With a 1-0 away win secured in Belarus last week, the Saints are just 90 minutes away from a place in the Europa League’s play-offs.
The group stages may be where the real money is to be made, but a play-off tie could pit them against one of a host of big names.
English side Tottenham, Italian’s Fiorentina, big-spending Dynamo Kiev, Spartak Moscow, Feyenoord and Besiktas are all waiting in the wings for the winners of the third qualifying round ties.
Thursday’s match kicks off at 7.45pm and due to the short timescales involved the game will be “pay at the gate”.
A St Johnstone spokesman said: “We are anticipating a bumper crowd at this fixture and it is very important to the club that season ticket holders and other regulars do not miss out on the game.”