Red Star Belgrade have unveiled a novel way to try and fill their Marakana Stadium for this week's Europa League opener with Celtic....they will give free tickets to blood donors.
The Hoops begin their league phase of the competition with a trip to Serbia to face Red Star in the opening round of fixtures.
The former European Cup winners have made repeated appeals for their fans to try and fill the 51,000-capacity stadium for the visit of the Scottish champions on Wednesday.
And they have now introduced a new scheme where anyone who gives blood will be handed a free ticket for the crunch game against Celtic.
Red Star stated: "We inform the public that any fan who donates blood during the current campaign will receive a free ticket for the Europa League match against Celtic.
"We invited people to attend the 'Red and white blood' event at the stadium on September 21 and 22. This applies to all healthy people between 18 and 65."
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Club legend Mitar Mrkela urged supporters to pack out the stadium for the Europa League contest.
He said: "The fans are the key to winning the match against Celtic and I ask as many supporters as possible to attend the game and help us.
"We have a tough match with Celtic, which is a club with a rich tradition who are always a quality and demanding opponent.
"I had the opportunity to play a friendly match against them at the celebration of the club's centenary and since then I have always had fond memories and also great respect for that team.
"I am sure that we will also have a real spectacle at the Marakana. The support of the fans has always been crucial for Red Star and that is why I invite them to come to the stadium in as large a number as possible.
"Together we can create an atmosphere that will give our footballers a boost and help them achieve another great result."
