Away Goal Rule Scrapped From The Champions League And Europa League By UEFA

 UEFA have on Thursday confirmed that the away goals rule in both the Champions League and Europa League has been scrapped taking effect from the 2021/22 season.

This means that football matches which are still level with the same number of goals after two-legs, will go into two 15-minute periods extra time and penalties.

UEFA believes the decision will make for a fairer contest, but the announcement has already received something of a backlash on social media.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement: "There is criticism of the unfairness, especially in extra time, of obliging the home team to score twice when the away team has scored."

"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."

He added: "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.

"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."