CSKA Moscow have appealed to UEFA to switch the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid from Russia to Spain due to the cold weather, the club's director told RIA Novosti on Friday.
CSKA are to host the Spanish giants for the first leg in mid-February, but Roman Babaev said he had asked European football's governing body to make the switch.
"We have asked UEFA out of concerns of the climatic conditions in Moscow to change the games against Real so that we begin away from home and play the second leg in the (Russian) capital," Babaev said.
Average daytime temperatures in February are about minus 7 degrees Celsius (19 degrees Fahrenheit). The second leg is to be played in early March.
