Neville blasts Fifa over last-minute England vs Mexico kick-off chaos at World Cup

Gary Neville has publicly condemned Fifa after a chaotic episode in which England’s World Cup last-16 clash with Mexico appeared set to be moved forward six hours before the governing body reversed course and confirmed the original kick-off time would stand.

Reports had suggested the fixture — scheduled for 6pm local time in Mexico City — would be brought forward to 12pm local time due to storm warnings and the risk of flooding. Hours later, sources close to Fifa told The Independent that no decision to reschedule had ever been made, and the game would proceed as planned.

Neville, speaking on ITV Sport, did not hold back in his criticism of how the situation was handled. “I would find it disruptive as a player,” he said. “Conditions are huge for England — playing at 12pm in Mexico versus playing at 6pm is very different for our players. It’s worse, let’s be clear. It’s a sporting disadvantage to England; there’s a sporting integrity issue here.”

The former Manchester United and England defender drew a pointed comparison to the lower reaches of the English football pyramid. “I’ve never seen a League Two game moved back. Fifa are just willy nilly making it up and moving a game — it feels strange.”

Neville also questioned the necessity of any change, arguing that Mexico City’s stadium has procedures in place for exactly these conditions. “I was there when my brother was managing Inter Miami,” he said. “It can be disrupted for an hour — they go underneath, they get shelter. To move a game two days out, I’ve never seen that at any level of football ever.”

The confusion is understood to have angered both the Mexican and English football associations. Mexico manager Javier Aguirre revealed he was kept entirely in the dark throughout the process.

“Nobody asked me,” Aguirre said. “At 6pm we were perfectly fine. We’ve performed very well at that time. It’s an ideal kick-off, and I love it because we play well then. Noon is not a common time for us — I don’t think we’ve played at 12pm in 40 years. This team has never played at that hour under me. I don’t agree with it, and nobody asked me, but Fifa decides and I comply.”

Fifa has yet to release an official statement on the episode.