The FA Cup final will kick off at 3pm for the first time in 12 years when Manchester City meet Manchester United at Wembley on June 3.
Mail Sport revealed on Monday that the Metropolitan Police raised concerns about the FA’s preference for an evening game as the first ever all-Manchester final has been classed a high-risk fixture so the governing body have reverted to the cup final’s traditional kick-off time.
The move will be welcomed by traditionalists and fans of both clubs, many of whom would have faced a dash across London to catch the last train back to Manchester had the police permitted an evening kick-off.
It is understood that the FA did not attempt to contest the police advice and accepted their decision despite the fact that later kick-offs are more attractive to broadcasters and advertisers.
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The FA Cup final has been an evening event since 2012 when Chelsea’s win over Liverpool was moved to 5:15pm to prevent a clash with the final round of Premier League fixtures, and the resultant commercial benefits have seen the game kick off at 4:45pm at the earliest ever since.
Man City’s FA Cup final clash with rivals Manchester United has been handed a 3pm kick-off
The Red Devils will look to put an end to City’s Treble hopes if they are still alive by the time the two sides meet at Wembley Stadium on June 3
In addition to police concerns the FA’s room for manoeuvre this year has been further restricted by a clash of dates with the Derby at Epsom, which will also take place on June 3.
To compound matters both the FA Cup and the Derby will be broadcast live on ITV, who in talks with the FA and the Jockey Club expressed their determination to do both events justice by avoiding minimising the overlap in their coverage.
The Derby is currently listed as being run at 4:30pm, but is now set to be put back until after ITV’s cup final programming has concluded.
Ironically racing could benefit from the later running as ITV are likely to inherit much of the football audience, although the cup final will also be shown live on BBC1.
Man City won the FA Cup the last time the final started at 3pm in a 1-0 victory over Stoke City with Yaya Toure scoring the winning goal after 74 minutes
The move will be welcomed by fans of both clubs – many of whom would have had to dash back to catch the last train to Manchester if the game started later in the day