The away goals rule in European club football is going to be scrapped from the start of the 2021/22 season, the UEFA has confirmed.
The away goal rule has been used since 1965 and favoured the team that scored the most away goals in the case of drawn two-legged ties.
All ties that finish level on aggregate at the end of the second leg will go into extra time and potentially penalties, regardless of which team scored more away goals.
“It is no longer appropriate for an away goal to carry more weight,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
UEFA’s club competitions committee made the proposal last month in May and it has now been approved by the body’s executive committee.
Rule to be implemented for all competitions
This means that all games in the upcoming Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League and even the Women’s Champions League will all be played with the new rule adopted.
UEFA believes there is now a smaller gap between the number of home and away wins as well as home and away goals scored in European competitions.
European football’s governing body says that all of these changes are due to a number of factors. These include much better pitch quality around the continent, improved stadium infrastructure and new technologies being adopted such as the video assistant referee (VAR).
“The impact of the rule now runs counter to its original purpose as, in fact, it now dissuades home teams – especially in first legs – from attacking, because they fear conceding a goal that would give their opponents a crucial advantage,” Ceferin added.
“There is also criticism of the unfairness, especially in extra time, of obliging the home team to score twice when the away team has scored.
“It is fair to say that home advantage is now no longer as significant as it once was.”
UEFA’s decision has garnered a lot of mixed reactions and only time will tell if this new system is better than the system that we have grown up watching.
We definitely do feel that the away goal rule adds unparalleled excitement to football so it remains to be seen if this excitement remains the same.