Wembley officials are hoping that the Government will relax tax regulations after the new national stadium missed out on hosting the 2010 Champions League final, which was awarded yesterday to the Bernabéu, home of Real Madrid. Uefa hinted that Wembley would be a strong candidate to stage the final in 2011, but only if it receives guarantees that the finalists will not be taxed.

Under present government policy, the finalists are liable for tax on their earnings and bonuses from the match under the Foreign Entertainment Unit clause in Inland Revenue regulations. Although the Department for Media, Culture and Sport is understood to have made representations to the Treasury, it could not offer assurances acceptable to Uefa, whose executive committee met yesterday to select the Champions League and Uefa Cup final venues in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

“The concerns we had over players being taxed were minimised by the English FA, but not confirmed by the British Government,” Michel Platini, the Uefa president, said.

However, the hopes of Wembley and the FA executive that their investment of £757 million in the stadium would be rewarded by a prestigious — and lucrative — European final in 2011 were raised when Uefa, which had also been expected to name the venue for the 2011 finals yesterday, instead reopened the bidding.

“It gives them the chance to provide the necessary answers to the tax question,” William Gaillard, the Uefa spokesman, said. Uefa could have given the nod to either of two German venues after the German Government promised that it would not tax visiting players if the final were awarded to the Olympiastadion, in Berlin, or the AllianzArena, in Munich. Spain’s two bids, from the Bernabéu and Valencia’s Mestalla stadium, were not affected as there is no such direct tax law in Spain.

It is Uefa’s position that footballers should be taxed in their country of domicile and that taxing them separately in every country they play matches in would be unfair and complicated.

The 2010 Uefa Cup final was awarded to the Hamburg Arena, but a decision over the 2011 final was also put on hold.

Explore Football

• Premier League

• Football League

• Scotland

• European Football

• International Football

• Live Match Tracker

• The Fink Tank

• Fantasy Football