Earlier start time for United’s ‘high-risk’ semi-final

THE FA has been forced to bring forward the kick-off time for next month’s FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Coventry at Wembley after the Metropolitan Police surprisingly deemed it a high-risk fixture.

The first semi-final between Manchester City and Chelsea will kick off at 5.15pm on Saturday, April 20 with United v Coventry at 3.30pm on the Sunday.

The FA is understood to have initially requested a 4pm start for United v Coventry, but following talks with the London police, they 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. 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 generate more advertising revenue, with evening kick-offs having become common 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 as high-risk.

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 is increasingly resigned to an earlier kick-off for this season’s final at Wembley on May 25.