LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The minister who oversees sport in Britain said on Monday he feared a plan by Liverpool and Manchester United to restructure the English Premier League was a "power grab" that could prompt a deeper look at the governance of the sport.
The two clubs are backing a plan to radically change the Premier League's structure, giving more power to the big clubs, reducing it from 20 clubs to 18 for the 2022-23 season and scrapping the League Cup and Community Shield.
Asked on Sky News if the proposal was a good plan or a power grab, Oliver Dowden, the minister for culture, media and sport, said: "I fear it's the latter and I'm quite sceptical about this."
He added: "If we keep having these back room deals going on, we'll have to look at the underlying governance of football. We promised in the manifesto a fan led review, and I must say the events that I've seen in the last few weeks have made this seem more urgent again." (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and James Davey; editing by Michael Holden)