The second leg of the Europa League Round of 16 between Rubin Kazán and Real Betis will finally be held at the Rubin Kazán Stadium. According to the communication the Club received from UEFA yesterday. The European Football body has decided that the match is to be played at these facilities, owned by the Russian team, because it is the only pitch in the area with artificial turf. 

Today the city is covered with snow and no improvement is forecast for the day of the match. For this reason, UEFA has ruled out the possibility of playing at Tsentralniy (Central Stadium) as it has natural turf and provides no guarantee that the match will be held. In the case of the Kazan Arena, under construction for the 2018 World Cup, the stadium has not yet received approval to hold matches.

 In previous seasons, FC Rubin Kazán have played European qualifying matches at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, but given it is also undergoing reconstruction work for the World Cup UEFA has opted for the aforementioned alternative. The presence of snow throughout the Russian winter forces matches to be played during the coldest moths to be held at stadiums with artificial turf.