UEFA to ban England if govt interference found in sporting decisions

England and English soccer teams could be removed from UEFA competitions if a new regulator is considered to be Government interference in the sport.

In a letter sent by UEFA to the UK'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 European Super League.

UEFA regulations state there should be no government interference in the running of soccer.

We 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, 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 ...