The central argument is operational rather than ideological. The report says officers are not trying to stop supporters enjoying the tournament. They are warning that a blanket relaxation removes the local judgement normally used to manage risk.
That matters because football tournaments do not hit every area in the same way.
For forces, case-by-case licensing is a practical tool. It allows conditions to be tailored to the venue, location and likely crowd profile.
This is where the debate sharpens. Football, drink and emotion can be a combustible mix, especially when a national team is involved. Police concerns reportedly include disorder, anti-social behaviour and the wider safeguarding issues that often sit in the background during major tournaments.
A nationwide exemption could also create a second problem: displacement. If officers are kept on pub-duty longer, neighbourhood policing elsewhere may thin out. That is rarely visible on a fixture list, but it is often the real cost of tournament policing.
There is a middle ground here. Well-run venues in the right locations can help create the kind of shared national occasion governments like to promote. But local licensing exists for a reason. One rule for every pub in England is simple politically, yet rough in practice.
The next point to watch is whether ministers hold their line as the World Cup approaches - and, if England do progress, whether local policing concerns become the bigger story off the pitch.