A fan-led review into English football has found that clubs should introduce a 'golden share' giving fans veto power on a number of key identities of the club.

Conservative MP Tracey Crouch has published findings of the fan-led review, warning that English football is facing an ‘existential crisis’.

As well as an independent regulator, she recommends that clubs introduce a golden share to stop owners coming in and stripping football clubs of their histories, including in the form of their home stadiums.

This comes a year after The Gazette revealed the presence of a golden share in Basingstoke Town Football Club that could have stopped its former owner from evicting them from the historic Camrose ground.

The report was commissioned in the wake of the widely condemned English Super League which outlined plans for a closed-shop football league in which the richest clubs in the Premier League would compete separately from the rest of the English football pyramid.

The resulting uproar from fans ultimately shelved the plans, but the debate over fans’ representation on key decisions taken by football clubs continues.

The proposals include setting up an independent regulator, providing greater protection for important club assets and veto powers for fans in the form of a ‘golden share’.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Tracey Crouch said: “If there isn’t an independent regulator, I fear for the future of football. This is about making sure fans are central to decisions.”

“If the independent regulator doesn’t end up in place, then I do fear for the future of football. I genuinely think there could be a real crisis in English football because of the risk that some owners take which could significantly damage the club and disappear like Bury, like Macclesfield, like others.

"There has to be some self-awareness to the issues football has faced. It is about putting fans absolutely central to the decisions clubs make.

"It is about a golden share for particular reserved issues. Fans are committed to their football clubs, the badge, the logo, the stadium. This is about making sure the fans are central to some of those decisions.

"We have seen owners come in and decide to change the colours, the badge, or to relocate. In the case of Wimbledon, to relocate to Milton Keynes for example, and this was what was very important to fans."

However, Richard Masters, Chief Executive of the Premier League, said earlier in the year: “I don’t think we should be averse to change but I don’t think the independent regulator is the answer to the question.”

Basingstoke Town FC is no stranger to the controversy of club owners acting without fan consultation, with former chairman Rafi Razzak evicting the club from its historic Camrose ground.

As revealed by the Gazette last year, a golden share rule was in place for Basingstoke Town as part of the conditions when its parent company, Basingstoke Town Ltd, was set up in the early 2000s.

Accordingly, a vote on moving the club away from the Camrose ground should have been held amongst fans who would have accounted for 51% of the vote, surely stopping the eviction of the club.

However, Mr Razzak denied the claims, and said that the preferential share was taken away. He did not provide further evidence to The Gazette.

Reacting to the news of the review, BTFC's interim chairman, Jack Miller, said that he was "very encouraged".

"We’re very encouraged by the interim findings in the fan-led revie," the fourth generation BTFC fan told The Gazette.

"An independent regulator for football governance has been needed for a long time and it’s great to see the progress that has been made so far, led by Tracey Crouch MP.

"We as a club have been affected by some of the key topics raised, namely being evicted from The Camrose so it’s really reassuring that proposals are being developed for more protection for clubs and enhancing the existing legal provisions for sites considered Assets of Community Value and we hope that this review will be taken in to consideration in our on-going battle to return to our rightful home.

"It’s inherently wrong that so many other clubs have suffered a similar fate to ours and the introduction of a golden share, similar to the German model, can only be a positive thing for football in this country as a whole.

"Fans are the beating hearts of football clubs and will always prioritise a club’s best interests.

"Basingstoke Town Community FC are already run by our supporters and members but there are other clubs out there who are run by millionaires with no heartfelt interest in their club or community, who treat clubs as investment opportunities should not be allowed to do so.

"We certainly won’t stand for it and I can see how clubs could certainly benefit from a golden share scheme."