Rafa red in the face over Uefa ruling

omgukilledkenny SG

Sami Hyypia has spoken of his disappointment at being omitted from Liverpool's Champions League squad - but hopes to play a part this season.

New regulations dictate that clubs must include at least eight home-grown players in their 25-man party.

Finnish defender Hyypia has been one of the unlucky imports to miss out and will be left in England as the Reds get their European campaign underway against Marseille next Tuesday.

The veteran centre-half admits he is shocked to have missed the cut, but still hopes to play a crucial role for the club this season.

"The manager's decision to leave me out of the squad is a big disappointment for me," he told the Liverpool Echo.

"I understand it's partly because of the UEFA regulations, but despite that, the news came as a surprise to me and a shock too.

"But the club had a 'perfect' timing for this: they didn't want me to move elsewhere, so that's why I was told the news of having been left out, just after the transfer window had closed.

"The club went public to say there had been offers for me, but turned them down. So perhaps that means I am still part of the plans for this season.

"I don't know if I would have wanted to move on, had I heard the news about the squad when the window was still open."

UEFA regulations stipulate four players must be 'association trained' (produced by an English academy) while four must be 'domestic association trained (produced by the club's academy).

As such, Liverpool have named Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Jay Spearing and Stephen Darby as their 'domestic' players, with Robbie Keane, Jermaine Pennant, Steven Irwin and Martin Kelly filling the other spots.

While Hyypia is disappointed to miss out at this juncture, a new list will be submitted prior to the knockout stages - should Liverpool make it that far.

Chris88110 SG

eh wait, then arsenal domestic players leh?

omgukilledkenny SG

eh wait, then arsenal domestic players leh?

They got lotsa players i never heard before...

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/clubs/index.html

click on the club logo to see the respective squads.

omgukilledkenny SG

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has lambasted the Uefa ruling which he says forced him to leave Sami Hyypia out of his squad for the Champions League.

The Spaniard has had to abide by the new statute which dictates that eight ‘homegrown’ players must be part of the 25-man squad submitted for European competition.

Hyypia was sacrificed by Benitez and the Reds boss could not hide his contempt for the new rule, calling it a “mistake” and questioning its validity.

"Clearly I think it (the new Uefa rule) is a mistake," Benitez told Liverpool's official website.

"When you play in the Champions League, you need the best players you have on the pitch. It is not about where you are from, it is about the best players.

"I would understand if this rule came in for The Premier League, but not for the Champions League."

Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel are Benitez’s centre back options for this season’s competition, and he says leaving 34-year-old Hyypia out was a wrench given his vast experience.

"It was a really difficult decision, but we had to do it. With the rule saying that you need more or less eight British - or local - players in the squads, we needed to decide which three centre backs to have for the Champions League," Benitez added.

"We now have four centre backs who are good enough so they have to compete.

"And obviously it depends on the number of games we play and how we progress in the cup competitions too, so there could be a lot of games for many of our players."