Revealed: FA Cup Final kick-off time is set, with police NOT wanting a late start for Man City vs Man United
The FA Cup last is set to kick off at 3pm subsequent month creating a conflict with rugby union’s European Champions Cup last and a scheduling nightmare for rights holders ITV.
Mail Sport has discovered that the Metropolitan Police are not looking for the Manchester derby to kick off any later because of the danger of crowd bother at Wembley within the repeat of final 12 months’s last, when the kick-off time was introduced ahead to 3pm from 5:15pm for the primary time since 2011.
The FA’s choice is for early night kick-offs as they generate larger TV audiences within the UK and United States particularly, however sources at Wembley are resigned to the Cup last kicking off at its conventional 3pm start time.
The kick-off time is anticipated to be confirmed later this week following talks between the FA, Met Police, Brent Council and TV rights holders BBC and ITV.
While a 3pm kick-off is more likely to be welcomed by Manchester United and City followers travelling to London the choice shall be a industrial blow for the FA and broadcasters, notably ITV, because of the conflict with the Champions Cup last, which is resulting from kick off at 2:45pm.
ITV have the rights for each matches and are more likely to present the rugby on ITV4, which can have vital implications for its viewing figures.
The rugby authorities are additionally sad with the conflict as one of many showpiece events of the membership season, with Northampton and Harlequins each within the semi-finals alongside with Leinster and Toulouse, is more likely to be utterly overshadowed.
Tournament organisers European Rugby Cup Ltd are unwilling to alter the kick-off time for the Champions Cup nevertheless, which was chosen keep away from clashes in France with protection of the Cannes Film Festival and soccer’s French Cup last between Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, which is additionally scheduled for 25 May.
Another potential complication has been created by the truth that the Champions Cup last shall be staged on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though the Met haven’t raised issues about two main sporting occasions happening in London on the identical day.
The Met have taken an more and more cautious strategy to policing soccer lately, with the EFL sad at being pressured to carry ahead this 12 months’s Carabao Cup last between Liverpool and Chelsea to 3pm.
The FA declined to remark.
