MANCHESTER, England (AP) 鈥� England and English soccer teams could be removed from UEFA competitions if a is considered to be 鈥淕overnment interference鈥� in the sport.
In a letter sent by UEFA to the U.K.'s new culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, European soccer's governing body raised concerns about a proposed independent football regulator (IFR) in English soccer. The regulatory will ensure the financial sustainability of clubs and stop teams from joining breakaway competitions like the .
UEFA regulations state there should be no government interference in the running of soccer.
鈥淲e have specific rules that guard against this in order to guarantee the autonomy of sport and fairness of sporting competition; the ultimate sanction for which would be excluding the federation from UEFA and teams from competition,鈥� UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis wrote in his letter, which has been seen by The Associated Press.
England, which has been runner-up in the last two European Championships, is co-hosting the 2028 edition of the tournament.
If UEFA imposed its ultimate sanction of excluding the English Football Association, the England team would be barred from competing in the Euros. It could also mean Premier League clubs being barred from the Champions League and other competitions.
The U.K. government鈥檚 Football Governance Bill would give an independent regulator . It includes strengthened tests over who can run or own clubs.
In its letter, UEFA said 鈥渘ormally football regulation should be managed by the national federation.鈥�
It said it was concerned by what it described as 鈥渟cope creep鈥� by a regulator into areas beyond 鈥渢he long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.鈥�
UEFA said if all countries established regulators with wide-reaching powers it would hinder its ability to maintain effective governance across Europe. It wants England's regulator to be 鈥渟trictly limited鈥� to the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.
A U.K. government spokesperson said 鈥渢he Football Governance Bill will establish a new Independent Football Regulator that will put fans back at the heart of the game, and tackle fundamental governance problems to ensure that English football is sustainable for the benefit of the clubs鈥� communities going forward.鈥�
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James Robson is at
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AP soccer:
James Robson, The Associated Press
