After 56 years, UEFA havedeclared that theaway goals rulewould be withdrawn from European soccer starting from the upcoming2021/2022season. The adjustment is being implemented throughout the mens’ and women’s Champions League, the Europa League, and the Europa Conference League.
“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. 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 nowadays no longer as significant as it once was,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
“Taking into consideration the consistency across Europe in terms of styles of play, and many different factors which have led to a decline in home advantage, the UEFA Executive Committee has taken the correct decision in adopting the view that it is no longer appropriate for an away goal to carry more weight than one scored at home.”
What is the away goals rule?
The away goals rule is one of three FIFA-approved procedures for determining a game’s victor in the case of a tie, the other two being extra time and penalties. When the scores are level, the application of the away goals rule implies that any goals scored away from home essentially count double when the scores are level.
This rule is typically applied in ties with home and away legs, such as the knockout round of the Champions League. If the aggregate score is tied after two legs, the club with the most away goals is declared the winner. The away goals rule is most commonly used in two-leg matches where the aggregate scoredetermines the initial outcome.
In many tournaments, the away goals rule serves as the first tiebreaker in such circumstances, with a penalty shootout serving as the second tiebreaker if both teams have scored the same amount of away goals. The rules differ as to whether the away goals rule applies just at the end of normal time in the second leg or also in extra time. UEFA first used it in the 1965-66 European Cup Winners’ Cup.
How series will be defined from now on?
UEFA has stated that if the scores are still equal after two legs of a two-legged knockout tournament, there would be two 15-minute periods of extra time, as is typical in many high-level football events across the world. If both teams score the same amount of goals, or if no more goals are scored during extra time, a penalty shootout will be held to determine which side advances to the next round.
Over the years, the away goals rule has produced several memorable moments in knockout matches, notably in the Champions League. Tottenham‘s 3-2 triumph against Ajax in Amsterdam saw them progress to the competition’s final by away goals in 2018-19, having previously overcome Manchester City in the same manner in the Quarter-Final.
The abolition of the away goals rule will take effect immediately and will be in effect for the start of the 2021-22 season.
UEFA has indicated that the rule change will apply to all UEFA club competitions, including men’s, women’s, and junior events. This includes the Champions League, Europa League, Women’s Champions League, UEFA Youth League, UEFA Super Cup, and the newly created Europa Conference League.