WORLD CUP ’94 / DAILY REPORT

A two-year, $2-million experiment to play World Cup soccer indoors moved into its final phase as workers began installing grass inside the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich.

The June 18 game between the United States and Switzerland will mark the first time World Cup soccer has been played indoors. The grass installation is expected to be completed today, one week before the first of four games to be played over 11 days.

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Hundreds of Romanian soccer fans wanting to travel to the World Cup have failed to qualify for a U.S. tourist visa, officials in Bucharest said. The news followed Thursday’s disclosure that many Bulgarian fans had suffered a similar fate.

Immigration officials at the U.S. embassy in Bucharest were not immediately available for comment, but U.S. embassy sources put the refusal rate over the last few months at 50%. Immigration services in the former communist state are said to be closely checking visa applications to thwart possible asylum-seekers.

In Washington, a State Department spokesman said all countries were generally treated the same way.

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The United States relaxed a flight ban against Nigeria Airways to help the African country’s soccer team and more than 1,000 fans attend the World Cup. The ban was ordered last year because of lax security at Nigeria’s Lagos International Airport.

All flights covered by the relaxation must land before crossing the Atlantic at Dakar, Senegal, “for 100% security screening” under U.S. government supervision,” the announcement by the U.S. Transportation Department said.

Although Lagos Airport has been criticized for corruption, thievery and insecurity, the ban also has been seen as political. It came while the United States and the European Community were introducing limited sanctions against Nigeria’s military government because Gen. Ibrahim Babangida annulled June 12 presidential elections that were to end a decade of military rule.

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A circuit judge in Chicago set a hearing for July 7 on a class-action lawsuit by Anton Naunheimer, who claims he paid $1,600 for four Category I tickets for a game at Soldier Field but received Category III tickets worth only $600.

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Julio Salinas and Juan Castano Juanele scored as Spain beat Canada, 2-0, in an exhibition at Montreal.