England faces being banned from its own Euros if Keir Starmer pushes ahead with football regulator reforms, Uefa warns

UEFA has warned that England could be banned from hosting Euro 2028 if Sir Keir Starmer goes ahead with his plans to set up a regulator for men’s football.

A leaked copy of a letter from UEFA Secretary General Theodore Theodoridis to Culture Minister Lisa Nandy shows him warning against “government interference in the organisation of football”.

Labour has pledged to implement plans from the previous government to prevent top clubs from forming separate leagues and to curb financial mismanagement.

New laws would allow a newly established regulator to oversee clubs in the top five divisions of English football.

Sir Keir Starmer has committed to new rules to prevent financial mismanagement of clubs and the formation of breakaway leagues

UEFA Secretary General Theodore Theodoridis said it was a “fundamental requirement” that sport remains free from government interference

In a letter to Culture Minister Lisa Nandy, Mr Theodoridis warned that the planned reforms in the UK could amount to state overreach

But in his letter to Ms Nandy, Mr Theodiridis wrote that it was a “fundamental requirement” that the game remained independent.

The UEFA president has pointed to possible rules that would force club owners to align with the UK’s “trade and foreign policy objectives”, which are seen as a form of government intervention, the Times reported.

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