Bureaucrats have proposed forcing national sides to display a prominent EU flag logo alongside their own motifs

The national emblem an athlete wears on their chest can trigger raw power and emotion - not to mention patriotism.

But now famous sporting insignia, such as England’s Three Lions, could take on a dramatically different appearance thanks to an audacious plan concocted by officials in Brussels.

In a highly controversial move, eurocrats have demanded that the EU’s gold and blue flag should be given equal billing alongside each country’s own famous motifs at major sporting occasions.

Under the plans, competing nations at events such as the Olympics or the World Cup would be required to prominently display the EU’s logos on their jerseys.

It would also mean that national flags displayed around a stadium or when teams take to the field would need to be accompanied by the European symbol.

So the Union Jack on the British Olympic team’s next kit would be joined by the EU emblem.

The England football team’s Three Lions could also be forced to share shirt space with the European logo, as will Scotland’s lion and thistle, and Wales’ dragon.

Critics yesterday described the plan as ‘daft’ and said it was a blatant attempt by officials in Brussels to impose a European identity on the individual countries who make up the EU.

The EU has repeatedly faced criticism for trying to introduce subtle measures that some believe will transform the bloc into a federal ‘superstate’ system.

As well as football and the Olympics, the proposals could also apply to teams playing cricket, hockey and rugby.

The hushed plan emerged in a document drawn up by a European Parliament’s committee on culture and education, titled ‘an integrated approach to sport policy’.

In a highly controversial move, eurocrats have demanded that the EU’s gold and blue flag should be given equal billing by member states at major sporting events

Olympians would be forced to wear it on their Team GB shirts and it could surround the dragon on the Welsh shirt. Pictured is Jessica Ennis-Hill, left, and Gareth Bale, right

The report encourages national sports bodies to ‘use the EU flag and symbol, together with individual flags and national symbols’ during sporting events in which member states are involved.

It adds that major sports events ‘provide a great opportunity for organised sports to promote positive values’ and as a ‘driver for tourism and local businesses’.

The report was overwhelmingly approved by the European Parliament yesterday and will be passed to the EU’s executive arm to consider drawing the requirement into legislation.

Under the proposals, the Union Jack on the British Olympic team’s next kit would be joined by the EU emblem

Conservative MEP Emma McClarkin dismissed the plan as ‘another example of the EU wrapping bad ideas up in an attractive banner and expecting us to turn a blind eye’.

Miss McClarkin said that her party colleagues would vote against the measure, which was proposed by left-wing political groups in the chamber.

‘Once again the EU is trying to impose an artificial European identity on people by straying into an area in which it simply has no role,’ she said,

‘Sports teams are part of a country’s identity and it is not just the British who see no place for the EU emblem on their footballers and athletes.

‘This daft idea first raised its head six years ago. We opposed it then and we will oppose it now.’

The EU was granted powers to make rules and recommendations in the field of sport under the Lisbon Treaty in 2009.

A similar plan was floated by a European Parliament committee in 2011 and included a concession that member states should be allowed to make the final decision after an outcry.

It was eventually decided however not to implement the recommendation.

Official EU documents describe the flag as symbolising both the ‘European Union and, more broadly, the identity and unity of Europe’.

The flag, officially adopted by the EU in 1985, is made up of 12 gold stars on a blue background that are said to stand for ‘the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe’.