EURO 2008:EUROPEAN SOCCER'S governing body Uefa has warned Spain they could be thrown out of Euro 2008, which may open the door for Northern Ireland to qualify for the event.

Uefa may step in if the Spanish government tries to interfere in the election process of the Spanish Football Association.

Spain topped their qualifying group for the European Championship, with Northern Ireland finishing in third place.

"Uefa and Fifa deal with these sort of issues very seriously. These are no empty threats - we will back them up," said Uefa spokesman William Gaillard.

"It is similar to 1992 when Yugoslavia was suspended and Denmark, who finished second in the group, came in," added Gaillard.

"I know the matter is serious but I don't want to speculate on the outcome of the current dispute. We all hope that in the interests of football the conflict can be solved."

Denmark went on to win the tournament in Sweden after beating Germany 2-0 in the final.

Spain and second-placed Sweden qualified for this summer's finals in Austria and Switzerland from Group F, with Nigel Worthington's side just missing out.

"We have heard nothing about this," said Irish FA president Raymond Kennedy when asked about the situation yesterday. "There has been no communication and it is obviously an internal matter."

The game's governing bodies are involved after the Spanish government issued a ministerial order forcing the country's non-Olympic sporting federations to hold elections before the games in Beijing.

That now means that the Spanish Football Federation have to elect a new leader on the orders of government and that interference is against Fifa and Uefa regulations.