uefa changes away goal rule

[hayden_horn 11,403]

https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-champions-league/story/4419188/away-goals-rule-abolished-uefa-announces-major-shake-up-of-club-competitions

Quote

UEFA announced on Thursday that the away goals rule will be abolished in European tournament knockout ties from the 2021-22 season.

The rule, which had been in place since 1965, was used to determine a winner when teams were level on aggregate after a two-legged match. The team that had scored more goals as the away side were awarded the victory. But from now, this will be replaced by extra time and penalties.

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A UEFA statement read: "Following the recommendation of the UEFA Club Competitions Committee and the UEFA Women's Football Committee, the UEFA Executive Committee has today approved a proposal to remove the so-called away goals rule from all UEFA club competitions (men, women and youth) as of the qualifying phases of the 2021/22 competitions."

Commenting on the abolishment of the away goals rule, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: "The away goals rule has been an intrinsic part of UEFA competitions since it was introduced in 1965. However, the question of its abolition has been debated at various UEFA meetings over the last few years. Although there was no unanimity of views, many coaches, fans and other football stakeholders have questioned its fairness and have expressed a preference for the rule to be abolished.

"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. 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."

Lyon, who had won the previous five editions of the women's Champions League, were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals on away goals last season.

In the men's Champions League, FC Porto and PSG benefited -- eliminating Juventus and Bayern Munich -- to reach the last eight and semifinals respectively.

Tottenham Hotspur progressed to the 2019 final after beating Manchester City and Ajax on away goals before they lost the final to Liverpool.

The rule change was not unanimous, Ceferin said, but was made after the rule's "fairness" was questioned. The decision to scrap the away goals rule was taken by UEFA's Executive Committee following the recommendation of its Club Competitions Committee and the Women's Football Committee.

i haver some mixed feelings on this. i've pretty much only known the aggregate + away goal rule. but part of me says this is a pretty sensible change.

what do yall think?

[mdmost 44,143]

I thought it would've made more sense to eliminate it this season since most of the UEFA matches were played in empty stadiums.  

[gsoda3 3,364]

it's been that way my entire life so i know nothing different, but i liked it.  nothing more exciting than the last minutes of the semis in 2009 when on one moment off iniesta's foot barca went from out of the tournament to advancing over chelsea.  i was in barcelona for that watching in a tiny bar on la rambla.  the party went on til 3 or 4.

[UDontKnow 10,572]

I'm all for 30 minutes extra time and penalty kicks. The team that wins by PKs in the first leg is up a goal in aggregate heading into the second leg. It's a simple adjustment.

[ztejas 44,299]

9 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

The team that wins by PKs in the first leg is up a goal in aggregate heading into the second leg.

What? The first leg doesn't go into extra time if it's tied. Why would they do that?

[Firemans4Horn 18,544]

I loved the excitement in the 2nd leg that a team could go from losing to winning in 1 second. I think this encourages more 2000 era Mourinho bunker football from road teams in the first leg. 

[shnsajax 3,607]

12 hours ago, hayden_horn said:

https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-champions-league/story/4419188/away-goals-rule-abolished-uefa-announces-major-shake-up-of-club-competitions

i haver some mixed feelings on this. i've pretty much only known the aggregate + away goal rule. but part of me says this is a pretty sensible change.

what do yall think?

This is where I am, but getting that road goal in the first game always meant so much and changed the mentality of the 2nd game before kickoff. I also look back to the Ajax/Real series a couple of years ago. Real wins 2-1 in Amsterdam, but then Ajax goes up early 2-0 in Madrid and the entire match is on tilt for another 70 minutes. 

[Napoleon 8,858]

I liked the road goal thing, but thought that a road goal in OT should be counted as a neutral goal. 

The fact that after 180 minutes, two teams are tied and yet one team now is given a weighted goal while the other team wasn’t was fully REGARDED!

Mourinho should not be allowed to coach club soccer. 

[TexArcher 39,080]

I think part of the logic of the road goal rule was to discourage the visiting team from playing for a 0-0 in the first game.  This may lead to some snoozers.

[hobbes2702 13,520]

13 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

I think part of the logic of the road goal rule was to discourage the visiting team from playing for a 0-0 in the first game.  This may lead to some snoozers.

That’s my thinking. I think we now see a lot more teams playing for 0-0 in the first legs 

[Captain Ron 13,137]

Bummer liked the rule. Hopefully it will open up the first games since the home team doesn’t have as much to lose. 

[Surly Bevo 25,805]

5 minutes ago, Captain Ron said:

Bummer liked the rule. Hopefully it will open up the first games since the home team doesn’t have as much to lose. 

Same.  It seems that is the theory anyway but I am guessing that the end result will often be similar.  In first legs one side will attack more, one side will defend more (now if you are visitor the away goal "carrot" is gone and you have "last at bat) than they historically have....will the result change?  Guess we will see.