Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has branded the new UEFA rule which forced him to leave Sami Hyypia out of his Champions League squad a "mistake".
Benitez has omitted the centre-back from his 25-man plans for this season's European competition and the Anfield boss admits it was a difficult decision.
A new ruling states sides participating in Europe's premier club competition must have eight 'homegrown players' in their squad.
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) and Hyypia has paid the price.
"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."
Benitez has opted to name former England international Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel as his central defenders and insists he did not want to leave 34-year-old Hyypia out of his European plans.
"It was 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."
Benitez has omitted the centre-back from his 25-man plans for this season's European competition and the Anfield boss admits it was a difficult decision.
A new ruling states sides participating in Europe's premier club competition must have eight 'homegrown players' in their squad.
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) and Hyypia has paid the price.
"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."
Benitez has opted to name former England international Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel as his central defenders and insists he did not want to leave 34-year-old Hyypia out of his European plans.
"It was 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."
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