UEFA General Secretary writes to British Government with Champions League sanctions on the table

UEFA have expressed concern over a British Government bill that is due to be passed this year to introduce a regulator into English football that would impact Premier League clubs. General Secretary at UEFA Theodore Theodoridis has written to UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy about the issues, reminding that overstepping their purview could see clubs sanctioned with Champions League bans.

A story in The Times was run earlier this week which detailed some of Theodoridis’ queries about the bill.

“Several aspects of the bill raise specific concerns regarding the IFR’s independence and the risk of political and governmental interference, namely [the clause] which obliges the IFR to consider the UK government’s foreign and trade policy objectives when determining the suitability of future and incumbent owners.”

Official: Ansu Fati has received the medical green light. @FCBarcelona

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The letter goes on to remind of the potential sanctions on the table, should the British Government overstep the line and coming into conflict with UEFA regulations, warning “the ultimate sanction for which would be excluding the federation from Uefa and teams from competition.”

The regulator is being introduced in order to vet and regulate the ownership structures in English football, protecting clubs and communities from irresponsible owners. The UK government have offered to alter some of the language in the bill, and UEFA have insisted that they do not want to stop the introduction of the regulator, nor did they want to interfere. The Times go on to detail that there is no threat of English clubs being banned from the Champions League as things stand.

🇦🇷🔴⚪️ Diego Simeone: “It’s my 13th Champions League season as Atletico Madrid coach, and for the club and the fans, it’s been a huge step forward. Every day we have to rise to the occasion, demand more, but without losing focus on the partido a partido (game-by-game) approach.” pic.twitter.com/lzAfnKHpMm

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It seems highly unlikely that they will face much in the way of punishment, as UEFA have struggled to punish powerful clubs in general over recent years. The regulator idea was first conceived as a response to The Superleague idea, which in contrast has not faced opposition from the Spanish Government.