Rangers have had the appeal for their UEFA Cup tie against Anji Makhachkala on Thursday to be moved to a neutral venue turned down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Scottish club has said.
"By decision rendered this night by the deputy president of the CAS ordinary arbitrary division, the application by Rangers FC has been dismissed," said a CAS statement quoted on Rangers' official website.
Rangers now seem certain to pull out - or be expelled - from the tournament as a club statement on Tuesday night said they would not send a team to the troubled region in southern Russia because of safety fears.
Rangers had launched the appeal for a neutral venue, initially to governing body UEFA, after the British Foreign Office advised that they should not travel.
But UEFA told Rangers on Wednesday that they must go ahead with the first round, first leg tie, triggering the club's appeal to the CAS. UEFA had said they would be bound by the court's decision.