Chilling reason why FIFA wanted to reschedule England's World Cup clash with Mexico revealed
The reason why FIFA had put forward plans to reschedule England's fixture against Mexico has been revealed.
England and Mexico will face off at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City at 6pm local time, which means the match will be broadcast at 1am BST.
But that time was very nearly changed after FIFA reportedly had emergency discussions to have it six hours earlier, which would have meant a midday kickoff in Mexico City.
Things got so heated that the BBC even had to deny that it was involved in discussions to bring the match forward, perhaps because this would place it at the more convenient time of 7pm in the UK instead of 1am, after false reports of this began to circulate in Mexico.
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In a statement, the corporation said: “The BBC were not involved in these discussions."
So what was the real reason for the the discussions around the World Cup match being brought forward?
A report in The Athletic has said that the discussion were held amid concerns about the safety of fans in Mexico City following the match.
Four Mexican fans died during celebrations after the team's victory over Ecuador.
This had raised concerns that a 6pm kickoff local time would come after a day of drinking in the city, which would continue after the match, with the discussions being held at very short notice before the fixture.
Organisers discussed bringing the match forward to midday so that fans would not be drinking as much before the game, which it was hoped would lower the chances of the tragedy being repeated.
However, the match will now go ahead at the originally scheduled time.
As for who will win, both teams have a fighting chance of making it through to the quarter finals.
Mexico came out well from the group stage, winning all three of their matches and ending up in a strong third position as they entered the knockout stages of the competition, with only Argentina and France edging ahead on goal difference.
Since then, cohosts Mexico went on to defeat Ecuador 2-0 in the first knockout stage.
Meanwhile, England had a slightly less successful start in the group stages, winning two and drawing one of their first three games, but still finishing at the top of their group with seven points.
England then faced off against the Democratic Republic of Congo, beating them 2-1 to bring themselves into the final 16.
Whichever of the two teams wins this match will move on to the quarter finals, where they will face either Norway or Brazil in a match scheduled for 11 July.
LADBible has approached FIFA for comment.
Kit Roberts