30/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - Dutch MEP Toine Manders believes that around 700 European football clubs have benefited from illegal state aid and has called on the European Union to rapidly adopt an action plan to clarify rules for this sector. "Football clubs would collapse like a pack of cards" if it was proved that following this complaint for example, one of them had received illegal state aid, warned the MEP in an interview with Euractiv. Manders underlined the cautious approach with which the European Commission and that national authorities were currently tackling the issue of state aid and football because "it is so politically sensitive and they don't want to make themselves unpopular with EU citizens". The MEP pointed out that the procedures begun in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy have not revealed anything up until now but hoped that as soon as they had clarified the rules, procedures could begin against those which have infringed European law.