Welsh football chiefs may call in FIFA over a row with Ukrainian embassy officials who refused to grant striker John Hartson a visa ahead of next Wednesday's World Cup qualifier in the former Soviet Union.
The Ukrainian Embassy rejected the Coventry star's application because his passport is too tatty and they have not backed down in a stand-off that threatens to rule Hartson out of the crucial clash.
"If we need to get FIFA involved we will," said a Welsh FA spokesman.
"We've been trying to get visas sorted out for various players, but they're just being awkward," he told the Daily Mirror.
"John's visa is something we're hoping to get resolved in the next 24 hours.
"The Ukrainian Embassy are refusing to give John a visa because they're saying his passport is in such a bad condition and it only arrived on Wednesday."
But stubborn embassy officials have insisted they will not be moved.
An embassy spokeswomen said: "Our rules on visas are very strict, there are no exceptions. You need a visa to get into the Ukraine."
PA