- The match will be a repeat of last year’s Manchester derby, won by Man City
- The Met have taken an increasingly cautious approach to football in recent years
- If Erik ten Hag wins the FA Cup with Man United, does he deserve to keep his job? Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
The FA Cup final will kick off at 3pm next month, creating a clash with rugby union’s European Champions Cup final and a nightmare for rights holders ITV.
Mail Sport has learned that the Metropolitan Police do not want the Manchester derby to start later due to the risk of crowd trouble at Wembley in the replay of last year’s final, when the 5pm kick-off was brought forward to 3pm: For for the first time since 2011 at 3 p.m.
The FA prefers an early evening kick-off as it generates a larger TV audience, particularly in Britain and the United States, but sources at Wembley have resigned to the cup final starting at its traditional 3pm start time .
Kick-off is expected to be confirmed later this week following talks between the FA, Met Police, Brent Council and TV rights holders BBC and ITV.
Although the 3pm kick-off is likely to be welcomed by Manchester United and City fans traveling to London, the decision will be a commercial blow to the FA and broadcasters, particularly ITV, due to the clash with the Champions Cup final , which is due to start at 2:45 p.m.
The FA Cup final starts at 3pm next month and the Metropolitan Police are concerned about the risk of crowd trouble at Wembley
The match will be played between Manchester United and Manchester City for the second year in a row
The change in kick-off times creates a clash with ITV also broadcasting the Rugby European Champions Cup on the same day
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ITV has the rights to both matches and is likely to show the rugby on ITV4, which will have a significant impact on ratings.
The rugby authorities are also unhappy with the match as one of the showpiece events of the club season, with Northampton and Harlequins in the semi-finals as well as Leinster and Toulouse, is likely to be completely overshadowed.
However, tournament organizers European Rugby Cup Ltd are unwilling to change the kick-off time for the Champions Cup, which was chosen to avoid clashes in France with coverage of the Cannes Film Festival and the French Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, also scheduled before May 25.
Another potential complication has been raised by the fact that the Champions Cup final will be held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, although the Met have expressed no concerns about two major sporting events taking place in London on the same day.
The Met have taken an increasingly cautious approach to monitoring football in recent years, with the EFL unhappy at being forced to move this year’s Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea to 3pm.
The FA declined to comment.