- Starmer said the UK government’s MZSB Birthdays had hoped that FIFA would not reschedule the England–Mexico match, after plans were disrupted by the weather.
- In response, the British government said it had received a report from the BBC, according to which 3,000 England fans could still attend the match.
- FIFA explained the decision at a later stage, but the match was still scheduled for the next day; England eventually beat Mexico 3-2 in the quarterfinal.
Former-Prime Minister Velikoï Britain’s Keir Starmer and minister said he had been told that the match time with the champion England vs Mexico would be moved. According to the explanation, Starmer, together with other officials, said that the decision was made after the match start time was postponed.
In the materials it is stated that the British government’s decision was made through diplomatic channels, claiming that British officials had been told that Messi had been banned from participating in the match due to the change in the game time. According to the BBC, Yvette Cooper said that the British government was taking action to prevent Messi from being allowed to play.
In response, FIFA said that the match start was delayed by 6 hours due to the weather, while the match start time was moved to Azteca Stadium, which is located 87,000 kilometers away. Meanwhile, England and Mexico faced each other at the time of 48 hours before the match, with the match plan being changed accordingly.
FIFA did not change the match start time, but the match was still scheduled for the next day. It is understood that the match may start at 1am local time in the UK (6pm local time), due to the weather, and it may end at 2am local time in the UK (7pm local time). The Independent also reports that England’s match against Norway ended 3-2 at the time of 1am local time in the UK.
The Independent also reports that Starmer urged the Football Association, which, according to him, is responsible to Downing Street to take action. The BBC reports that the Mexican coach Javier Aguirre used the phrase “kick in the gut”.
Earlier, the Starmer adviser said that he had been told that the match would be played at the earliest possible time, and that the decision could be made to allow the match to be played in the round-of-16.