PA MediaThe prime minister and foreign secretary were involved in arguing for the kick-off time for England’s World Cup match against Mexico not to be moved earlier – as mooted by Fifa in the days before the game.
Sir Keir Starmer instructed officials to make the case, backed by the Football Association, that the match should remain in its original time slot, as first reported by the Sun newspaper.
Yvette Cooper spoke to the British ambassador to Mexico, to ask that British diplomats made representations against a change, to ensure that the 3,000 travelling England fans didn’t miss the match as a result.
Fifa had been set to bring the match forward by six hours, due to a forecast of thunderstorms.
Speaking at a Downing Street reception, Sir Keir said: “We had to battle with the FA to get it back to where it was, which was counterintuitive.”
The Football Association has not commented.
The proposed time-change was said to have been prompted by fears about the potential impact of lightning and flooding around the Azteca Stadium, which holds more than 87,000 spectators.
However, both the English and Mexican football associations objected to the time being changed less than 48 hours before kick-off, with concerns raised about the impact on fans’ travel plans and the teams’ preparations.
The Mexican football manager, Javier Aguirre, called the proposals a “kick in the gut”.
After more than five hours of uncertainty, Fifa made clear that the time would remain as originally planned.
England won the match, beating Mexico 3-2, setting up a quarter-final clash against Norway in Miami on Saturday.
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