Three Lion Whip: Starmer stepped in to stop FIFA bringing forward England vs Mexico kick-off
The Prime Minister is said to advised the FA to block the move over fears it would give the co-hosts an unfair advantage
Sir Keir Starmer stepped in to block FIFA's decision to bring kick-off forward in England's thrilling win at the Azteca Stadium due to suspicions the Mexicans were trying to gain an upper hand.
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The match was thrown into chaos in the days leading up to it with kick-off being moved from 1am BST to 7pm, before it was then pushed back to its original time.
The outgoing Prime Minister is said to have told FA chiefs that he was opposed to moving the start time because it would give the Three Lions less time to adapt to the stadium's altitude.
Thunderstorms did end up causing an hour delay, but Thomas Tuchel's team progressed to the quarter-finals following the thrilling 3-2 win.
Read more: Pubs answer late-night call as England fans toast World Cup white knuckle ride
When suggestions emerged that FIFA were considering bringing forward kick-off by five hours to 7pm UK time (Noon local time), the FA made contact with Downing Street to see if they would accept moving the time, it is understood.
But a source told The Sun: "The Mexicans were really talking up the storm and were pressing to move the game.
"But Keir was having none of it and suspected they were trying to derail the England preparations by giving less time to adapt to the altitude, so he put his foot down."
Sir Keir already intervened to ensure UK pubs would be allowed to stay open until 5am. The match had not been covered by existing measures to extend pub hours for England matches until 2am, and would run past that time anyway.
But PM confirmed that pubs will stay open as late as 5am.
Manager Thomas Tuchel thanked patriotic fans for staying up all night to watch the side beat Mexico in an astonishing World Cup victory.
After the victory, he said: "I just want to say thank you, if you stayed up and sent us your energy thank you.
"Because if they think we don’t feel it, we feel it one hundred per cent."
He added: "There is so much to love about this team, they should just keep pushing, pushing and pushing.
"My emotions are very mixed I am just proud of the mentality and the attitude."
The Three Lions face Norway next in the quarter-finals on Saturday at 10pm BST.