Keir Starmer stepped in to stop Fifa bringing forward England kick-off as he feared Mexico were trying to gain advantage

SIR Keir Starmer personally stopped Fifa bringing forward the World Cup kick-off at the Azteca – suspecting Mexico were trying to gain unfair advantage over England.

The PM told the FA he was opposed to moving the match from 1am UK time to 7pm because it would give the Three Lions less time to adapt to the altitude.

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Fifa had tried to make the change to the World Cup round-of-16 time amid fears of freak weather.

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.”

It is understood the FA made contact with Downing Street to see if they would accept moving the time.

England went on to win the match 3-2 in an all-time epic at the Azteca at the original kick-off time although play was delayed for an hour while the heavens opened above Mexico City.

Sir Keir had already intervened to keep pubs open until 5am.

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The outgoing PM intervened with an emergency law following a chorus of calls to let Three Lions supporters watch the game with pals in their local.

Last week, Sir Keir said: “Football might be coming home but we’re making sure fans don’t have to.

“Pubs staying open till the final whistle is good news for supporters and good news for the pubs and venues that bring our communities together.”

The move was backed by UK Hospitality’s Kate Nicholls.

She added: “This very welcome announcement from the government allows those that want to enjoy the game in pubs and other hospitality venues to get together to cheer on our Three Lions.”

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The late-night victory gave pubs a huge boost with Star Pubs showing sales value up by a staggering 67 per cent year-on-year.

Cider sales were up 127% year-on-year and lager rose by 76% and stout increased 44% as pubs opened into the early hours.

Lawson Mountstevens, managing director of Heineken UK’s Star Pubs, said: “This is a brilliant reminder of why pubs matter. Even with a 2am kick-off, fans still turned out to watch the match together, creating an atmosphere you simply cannot recreate at home.

“For pubs, it was a welcome and meaningful boost, not just at the bar, but across food too, and it shows the powerful role pubs continue to play in bringing communities together for big national moments.”

“The result sends England through to a quarter-final against Norway, giving pubs another major trading opportunity as the nation’s World Cup momentum builds.”

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Jared Sedgwick, Director of Operations at Marston’s, the leading local pub company with more than 1,300 pubs, bars and inns nationwide, said: “Last night was something truly special.

“Around 450 of our pubs stayed open through to 5am and the atmosphere was everything you’d hope for – passionate, community spirited and the kind of night that everyone who was there will remember for a lifetime.

“The numbers tell their own story – between 11pm to 5am, over 120,000 drinks were sold, with our Grandstand locals sport pubs leading the way.

Meanwhile, Stonegate Group saw pubs and bars across its estate pour a staggering 796,000 drinks for fans – 355,000 more than an average Sunday.

Spirits’ sales were up 30,000 on England’s last fixture across their outlets.

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David McDowall, boss of the Stonegate Group. said: “Nights like this show exactly why the pub remains the heart of the nation when it comes to watching football.

“Our teams pulled out all the stops for a 2am kick-off, and the numbers speak for themselves, from record spirits sales to Yorkshire pipping London to top region for the first time.

“It’s a brilliant reminder of the role pubs play in bringing people together for the big moments.”

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