Kenyon shrugs off Chelsea's exclusion from G14

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon yesterday played down the Premier League champions' continued exclusion from the elite G14 of soccer clubs.

Kenyon was speaking on the same day that the G14 pressure group, made up of 18 of Europe's leading clubs, was meeting in Milan before their court action in Belgium to challenge FIFA's player-release regulations.

"We are members of UEFA's European Club Forum and so is everyone else," he said. "Yes, we have the stature to be there - as members of G14 - but, for whatever reason, we are not. It is one of those things.

"But this is a global club issue and it is right that it is discussed in a wider forum," added Kenyon, referring to the dispute over clubs releasing players to national teams.

Chelsea failed to gain unanimous support from the existing members to join the G14 which includes Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool, as well as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Milan.