EDINBURGH, Scotland -- A women's anti-rape group lost an appeal Friday to bar Mike Tyson from entering Britain for a June 24 fight against Lou Savarese.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh rejected the appeal from the Rape Crisis Center to overturn last month's decision by Home Secretary Jack Straw to let the former heavyweight champion enter the country.

About 36,000 tickets have been sold for the Glasgow fight, which will be Tyson's second fight in Britain in five months. He knocked out Julius Francis in the second in January in Manchester, England.

On Monday, when the appeal was granted, the Rape Crisis Center argued that Straw erred in granting Tyson permission to enter without first hearing from opponents. The group said Straw had met privately with supporters of Tyson.

Because of the controversy surrounding the Manchester fight, the Rape Crisis Center said it was unreasonable to decide so quickly on the second fight.

British law bars entry to anyone who has served a jail sentence of a year or more. But Straw cited "exceptional circumstances" in the allowing Tyson to enter for the January fight. Tyson served three years for a rape conviction.

Straw said Tyson didn't misbehave on his previous visit, and his fights offered strong commercial benefits. He said banning him would harm Britain's reputation for staging major sports events.