Downing Street has moved to clarify Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s involvement in discussions surrounding the kick-off time for England’s World Cup match against Mexico, amid a wider controversy concerning potential political interference in Fifa by American president Donald Trump.
Sir Keir is understood to have intervened to prevent Fifa from bringing forward the match’s kick-off time from 6pm local to 12pm local on Sunday. Such a change would have significantly curtailed England’s preparations for the last-16 fixture, which was played at high altitude in Mexico City.