Burnham said it was the “right” of each of the four UK football associations to refuse to be part of the selection process for a British team.

 

He said the British Olympic Association wanted to put forward “the strongest team that we could possibly field”.

 

He said: “No sanctions should be applied against any young person who wants to accept the call-up to that team and represent their country in their home-soil Olympics.

 

"To deny young people that opportunity would be a crying shame.”

 

Burnham was replying to a question in the Commons from Perth and North Perthshire SNP MP Pete Wishart.

 

He drew attention to remarks of FIFA president Sepp Blatter over the weekend who, he said, supported the view of the Scottish Football Association, the Tartan Army, and the overwhelming majority of Scotland fans “that a ‘team GB’ would threaten the independence of the Scottish football team”.

 

Scottish FA president George Peat has claimed that he was privately advised by FIFA President Sepp Blatter that involvement in the Olympics would jeopardise their separate status.

 

Peat's claim has been disputed by Burnham, who told the House of Commons that FIFA had already pledged that would not be the case.

 

Burnham said: "I profoundly disagree - indeed FIFA's executive late last year passed a resolution specifically saying the independence of the four home nations' FAs would not be affected.

 

"FIFA have resolutely confirmed their position.

 

Wishart called on Burnham to drop the single UK team idea and allow each association to put forward its own team “just as they did in London in 1908”.

 

Wishart urged the Westminster Government to give up “the pretence that Team GB was “a benign creation”.

 

He said: “Scotland’s national game is in danger.

 

"Now is not the time for petty point scoring but for working together to ensure its long-term survival.”