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The FA have been forced to bring forward the kick-off time for next month’s FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Coventry after the Metropolitan Police deemed it to be a ‘high-risk’ fixture.
Mail Sport has learned that the second FA Cup semi-final is set to kick off at 3:30pm on Sunday 21 April, with Manchester City v Chelsea kicking off at 5:15pm the previous evening.
The FA are understood to have initially requested a 4pm kick-off for United v Coventry, but following talks with the Met have agreed to start the game half-an-hour earlier after the police expressed public order concerns.
The decision is expected to be confirmed at a meeting of the local Safety Advisory Group, which also includes Brent Council, later today.
The FA’s talks with the Met are the latest in a long line of recent disagreements over kick-off times which are proving frustrating to governing bodies and broadcasters, in this case BBC and ITV.
Later kick-off times attract bigger television audiences and more advertising revenue, with evening kick-offs having become 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 of policy from the Met over the last 12 months which has resulted in any game involving Manchester United and Liverpool to be deemed high-risk.
The EFL were furious last month at having to bring forward the Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea to 3pm, while the Met’s decision to categorise United v Coventry as high-risk has raised eyebrows at Wembley.
The FA had to bring forward last year’s Manchester United v Manchester City Cup final to 3pm due to public order concerns raised by the Met, and are 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 are also due to broadcast rugby’s Investec Champions Cup final on the same day with a 2:45pm kick off.
European Rugby Cup Ltd has no flexibility around the kick-off time for the Champions Cup final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which would force ITV to broadcast two games simultaneously on different channels.
The Champions Cup final is kicking off at 2:45pm to avoid clashes in France with coverage of the Cannes Film Festival and football’s League Cup.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
