White House claim Keir Starmer World Cup decision put lives at 'grave' risk

An adviser to Donald Trump has accused Keir Starmer of putting 'people's lives at risk' after intervening to prevent a proposed kickoff time alteration for England's World Cup Round of 16 clash against Mexico. The World Cup quarter-finals commence today (Thursday, July 9), with France facing Morocco.

One of the remaining last-eight fixtures will see England take on Norway, following their dramatic 3-2 triumph over Mexico at the Azteca, a match that witnessed Thomas Tuchel's side endure a substantial storm, both off and on the pitch. Severe weather conditions were predicted to hit Mexico City last weekend during England's encounter with Mexico, leading to the kickoff being postponed by an hour.

On the pitch, England were also compelled to play the majority of the second half a man down following Jarrell Quansah's sending-off, with the Three Lions holding on to secure their quarter-final place 3-2. Yet the day before the fixture, it emerged that FIFA was considering bringing the kickoff forward by 6 hours to avoid the threat of thunderstorms.

Reports also indicated that safety and security concerns were driving the decision to bring forward the kick-off, with officials believing it would be safer to hold the match at that time in Mexico City following four deaths in the aftermath of Mexico's Round of 32 victory over Ecuador. Yet the proposal was ultimately shelved after significant pushback from both English and Mexican authorities.

Starmer, who is due to step down as UK Prime Minister in the coming weeks, also entered the fray, with reports indicating he instructed officials to resist the rescheduling of kick-off after being advised by the English FA that it would reduce the time the Three Lions had to acclimatise to Mexico City's altitude. That intervention has prompted fierce criticism from Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House Task Force on the World Cup.