THE FA Cup Final’s kick-off time may have to be moved due to police concerns and could clash with the Epsom Derby.
Rivals Manchester United and Manchester City are set to collide in the final at Wembley on June 3.
And the FA are facing a logistical nightmare over scheduling the game with the Metropolitan Police refusing to sanction their preferred 5:30pm kick-off time due to safety reasons.
According to The Mail, the authorities have deemed the first ever all-Manchester final a high-risk fixture for fan trouble.
That is why they will demand an earlier kick-off time when they meet the FA for talks later this week.
But the football governing body will also have to consider a potential clash with the Derby at Epsom.
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The Jockey Club have listed it as being run at 4:30pm, but may now be brought forward.
But the major problem is that both events are scheduled to air on ITV.
The channel would ideally schedule both during late afternoon with a significant gap between them to increase the audience size and satisfy both sets of fans.
But the FA may have no option but to follow police advice, with late kick-off times being avoided at Wembley following the violent scenes back in the final of Euro 2020 between England and Italy.
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The authorities have made it clear that 4:45pm is the latest time they will tolerate for the FA Cup Final.
The most likely solution would be if ITV tried to bring forward the running of the Derby until earlier in the card at Epsom.
This way both events can be shown on ITV1, but that would still require the Jockey Club’s approval.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
