Solihull pubs face the risk of losing money after being refused a license to show England's match

A restaurant owner said his restaurant is facing the risk of losing thousands of pounds after being denied a license to show the match between England and Mexico. If Thomas Tuchel's side get through to the last 16 by beating DR Congo, they will meet co-hosts Mexico in Mexico City on July 6. However, the match will kick-off at 01:00 BST, and The Wharf Tavern has been unable to obtain a temporary event license (TEN) to show the match at such a late hour, leaving operations manager Adam Cook frustrated.

Solihull Council said the license was refused because the application was made outside of the necessary prescribed working hours and there was "no space" under the law to adjust. Licensing laws have been relaxed to allow pubs to open outside of their normal hours. Shops can stay open until 01:00 BST for England matches in the knockout rounds starting from 17:00 to 21:00 and until 02:00 for matches starting from 21:00 to 22:00. However, this does not apply to matches taking place early in the morning like the match against Mexico next week.

After the renovation, Cook said the restaurant installed more television screens and speakers both inside and outside The Wharf Tavern, especially for this tournament. Showing previous World Cup matches had "quadrupled" revenue, he added. "We depend on these revenues to help us through the rest of the year," he explained. "Pubs are the heart of the community, football is a community event, this is terrible." He also said that this is a difficult time for the food service industry, especially for small restaurants. "We're having to fight every penny, with all the costs going up, we've seen all the headlines, it's tough but we're trying to fight back as much as possible."

In a social media post, the pub said: "The Wharf will continue to stand up for us, our customers and the role local pubs play in keeping communities alive. But these days this is becoming more and more difficult with rising costs and strict rules." TEN licenses cost £21 each and on Solihull Council's website it says applications must be submitted no later than 10 working days before the event, although late TEN licenses can be issued in around five to nine days. Cook said many other pubs had also been refused licences, including The Hodcarrier in Leamington Spa and several others in Shirley, Solihull. He said they had faced criticism for not applying sooner but applying in every capacity for all their pubs would have increased costs. Cook hopes they will be granted a license. “All the MPs we have contacted have been fantastic, and they are appealing the rejections,” he added. However, the council said: "While we want everyone in Solihull to be able to enjoy England's World Cup journey and all of our licensed premises benefit from the boost it brings, we are bound by law when it comes to licensing events like this."

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