Football Association (FA) chief Adam Crozier asked the British government for a secret deal to help fund the stalled redevelopment of Wembley stadium, according to a newspaper report.
The Mail on Sunday
said the revelations could lead to calls for Crozier to resign.
It said Crozier had asked the government to underwrite the stg£660million pound project with taxpayers' money while concealing the details until after the forthcoming election.
The article included a response from the FA denying that it had proposed a "subterfuge" to mislead the public.The government has not responded to the claims.
The plan for a new national stadium could now be abandoned, scaled down or a new venue found after the FA failed to win government funding or enough support from financial institutions.
The project was originally estimated at £240 million pounds but costs escalated during two years of delays, with Wembley now losing two million pounds a month.
The pitch has already been dug up and auctioned off to soccer fans.