However, there were reports that the match had been moved up to 7pm on Sunday night due to concerns about thunderstorms in the Mexico City area. Mexican coach Javier Aguirre was furious at the news and confirmed that the match had been moved up, albeit temporarily, by seven hours, but the FA also expressed concerns about the sudden decision. In the end, the kickoff time remained unchanged even after FIFA held emergency talks. The uncertainty led some Spanish-speaking media to accuse the BBC of having played a role in moving the kick-off time forward.
FOX Sports Spanish claimed that the BBC, as one of the broadcast rights holders of the World Cup, had pushed for the kick-off time to be brought forward to make it more advantageous for British viewers. A BBC spokesperson subsequently came forward and claimed they had no role to play as they were “not involved in these discussions”.
It is also understood that the FA were blindsided by the change to the kick-off time. News of this change was reported by radio station TUDN, but no statement was made by FIFA, although other sources claimed that a statement regarding the new start time was imminent.
The BBC also understands that the FA was not informed of the kick-off time until around 8pm BST and that the Mexican Football Federation was left stunned by the last-minute decision. Mexico coach Javier Aguirre was particularly angry, describing the decision as “a punch in the gut.”
“It’s not like everything we’ve done so far is wasted, but we’ve lost six hours that were part of the whole game day plan, so we’re pretty close,” Aguirre told Radio Formula.
“I don’t like it at all. Of course I will abide by what FIFA decides, but neither the players nor I are happy with it. There is no benefit to playing at midday.”
“Nothing. This really creates problems for everything. FIFA is in charge so we just deal with it. If anyone asks me, I say we will keep the 6pm kick-off. This is a significant change.”
“I understand there may be reasons behind it, but no one consulted me. Obviously, I’m pretty upset. But at the end of the day, our job is to go out there and win.”
