The UK government has declined to extend pub opening hours on Sunday night to enable fans to watch the England v Mexico World Cup match, Yankee Scores reports.
The match kicks off at 1am UK time in Mexico City.
Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson in the House of Commons asked if it would look at extending licensing laws on Sunday “so fans can enjoy the game in the pub”.
“Pubs will miss out on a real opportunity to get money in the till if ministers do not make a blanket extension for licensing hours”, Wilkinson said.
The 1am Policy Cutoff
The laws have already been eased by the government to allow for matches starting later in the evening but Business Minister Kate Dearden said they would not be extended further for a 1am start, per BBC.
In April the government eased licensing rules so that England and Scotland fans could watch games in the pub.
For games that kick off between 5pm and 9pm, licensing hours have been extended from 11pm to 1am.
Pubs can also open until 2am for kick offs after 9pm and up to 10pm.
Pubs can apply to their local council for what is called a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) to stay open late outside of those rules.
But it has to be submitted five working days beforehand and therefore is too late for pubs to apply on Thursday.
Some venues have planned out England’s possible path through the tournament and have already applied for and received an event notice.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “We remain in close contact with government about concerns raised by publicans who want to show the match but haven’t got TENs in place.
“It would be a crying shame for fans and pubs if our locals weren’t able to host such an important match.”
