- The Football Association initially requested a 4pm kick-off on Sunday, April 21
- But the Met Police have intervened again to move the Wembley kick-off forward
- England’s 2004 European Championship team were great on paper, but they didn’t win. Can this crop do it this summer? Listen to the It’s all Kicking Off podcast
The FA has been forced to bring forward the kick-off for next month’s FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Coventry after the Metropolitan Police deemed it a ‘risky’ match.
Mail Sport has learned that the second FA Cup semi-final will start at 3.30pm on Sunday, April 21, with Manchester City vs Chelsea kicking off at 5.15pm the night before.
The FA is said to have initially requested a kick-off for United against Coventry at 4pm, but following discussions with the Met, agreed to start the match half an hour earlier after police raised public order concerns.
The decision is expected to be confirmed later on Friday at a meeting of the local safety advisory group, which also includes Brent Council.
The FA’s talks with the Met are the latest in a long line of recent disagreements over showtimes, which are proving frustrating for governing bodies and broadcasters, in this case BBC and ITV.
The FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Coventry City on April 21 has been moved forward at the insistence of the Metropolitan Police
United defeated Liverpool 4-3 in a dramatic quarter-final to book a place in the semi-finals
They were drawn against Championship side Coventry in the semi-final after stunning Wolves
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Later kick-off times attract larger television audiences and advertising revenue, with evening kick-offs becoming the norm for FA Cup semi-finals and finals in recent years.
FA and EFL sources have both privately expressed frustration at an apparent change in policy by the Met in the past 12 months which has resulted in any match involving Manchester United and Liverpool being deemed high-risk.
The EFL was furious last month after having to move the Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea to 3pm, while the Met’s decision to label United v Coventry as high-risk at Wembley is raising eyebrows.
The FA had to bring forward last year’s Manchester United-Manchester City Cup final to 3pm due to public order concerns at the Met, and is increasingly resigned to an earlier kick-off for this season’s final at Wembley on 25 May.
Such a move would be particularly frustrating for rights holders ITV, who will also broadcast the Rugby Investec Champions Cup final on the same day with a 2.45pm kick-off.
At last month’s Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea at Wembley, the kick-off was also moved forward by the Met Police
European Rugby Cup Ltd has no flexibility around the kick-off of the Champions Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which would force ITV to broadcast two matches simultaneously on different channels.
The Champions Cup final starts at 2.45pm to avoid clashes in France with coverage of the Cannes Film Festival and football’s League Cup.