Premiership clubs are in dispute with the Rugby Football Union over shares and voting rights in European Cup Ltd.

France said they would pull their clubs out of the competition because of the row and England look set to follow.

"A European Cup without leading French clubs is not a genuine competition," a Premier Rugby statement said.

Interview: RFU chairman Martyn Thomas

The 12 Premiership clubs voted unanimously on Monday to follow the decision of the French clubs, who will decide on Thursday whether or not to go through with their boycott threat.

Premier Rugby, the governing body responsible for the 12 English Premiership clubs, however, has stressed that the English clubs would be committed to the tournament involving all the current participants.

But it is keen for English clubs to have a greater say in how the European Cup is run.

The French and Italian unions have already agreed to transfer ERC shares to clubs, and Premier Rugby's statement added: "Premier Rugby is seeking that their clubs have equal shares and votes with the RFU in a new five-year commitment to European competitions.

"Premier Rugby has been negotiating for the last 16 months with its other European partners to establish a new agreement once the current one comes to an end after this season.

I find the English clubs decision extraordinarily courageous French Federation chief

"It is a point of frustration that an agreement in principle reached in October 2006 with our European partners has so far been rejected by the RFU."

The French clubs have made their feelings on the matter known for the past 10 weeks, but Premier Rugby's decision has been greeted with bitter irony by French Federation chief Bernard Lapasset.

"I find the English clubs decision extraordinarily courageous," Lapasset said sarcastically.

He added: "I do not find this very courageous. All it does is send the ball back into the French court."

Leicester chief executive Peter Wheeler, meanwhile, has voiced his concern over the dispute.

Wheeler said: "The unions and clubs of Europe have been unable to persuade the English rugby union to accept a future structure of the competition on which all parties were agreed in principle last year.

"It is vital that the clubs, who are the driving forces of the tournament, have an increased say in the development of it. It should not be used as a leverage to seek greater player release for international duty.

"It is difficult to understand why the Union might be prepared to allow that action to seriously damage what is the foremost club competition in the world.

"They have their own European international competition with the Six Nations tournament, from which the clubs receive no revenue and provide players who have wages they continue to pay."

English and French clubs have won nine of the 11 Heineken Cup finals between them with only Ulster (1999) and Munster (2006) disrupting the Anglo-French monopoly.

If the two countries were to go ahead with their boycott, European Rugby Cup Ltd would be left with only teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy competing next season.