THE REASONING behind Fifa’s chaotic last-minute U-turn on plans to reschedule England’s clash with Mexico has been revealed.
The match was scheduled to take place at 6pm local time (1am GMT), when news emerged on Friday that .
The reasoning for Fifa’s scheduling chaos surrounding England’s clash with Mexico has been revealed Credit: Getty
The fixture was set to be moved six hours forward but has now been confirmed in its original slot Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
The reason that was widely reported at the time was that concerns over a potential storm and fallout such as flooding was the driving factor behind the potential measures.
But The Athletic have claimed that it was not primarily the weather, but instead worries over the safety of the original kick-off time that prompted the drastic talks.
‘s Round of 32 victory over sparked extensive celebrations around the Azteca and into Mexico City on Wednesday.
But in the crush of hundreds of thousands of fans, from asphyxiation and cardiac arrest.
The incident fuelled concerns over the safety of a late kick-off against , with meetings being held on Thursday over measures that could be taken to avoid a repeat of the tragedy.
Arguments were put forward that an evening kick-off leaves more room for fans to drink ahead of the match, raising the potential for disturbances after the game.
Bringing the match forward by six hours, to 12pm, would in theory mitigate that risk somewhat and dampen the post-match consequences.
But the decision was countered by logistical issues across the board, with the tasks of ensuring the stadium was ready to host the match, getting fans and teams there on time and ensuring local authorities were prepared to adequately monitor the scenes after the match proving to be significant drawbacks.
England fans travelling to the match have received a lifeline Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
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There was also the matter of pushback from the teams themselves and the stakeholders who would have been concerned by the late change.
The decision was ultimately reached to walk back on their internal plans and in light of the problems a change could have caused on such short notice.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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