09.04.2025 17:31
It has been reported that the rule change allowing matches in the UEFA Champions League to go directly to penalties instead of extra time after the group stage has been abandoned. This change was criticized for potentially reducing the burden on players due to a congested schedule, but it was also seen as providing an unfair advantage to the home team in the second leg.
The Champions League, the most important football organization at the club level in Europe, implemented a new format for the first time this season. The previous format, consisting of 8 groups of four teams each, has been replaced by a league system known as the Swiss model.
NO APPROVAL
In the season when the new format of the Champions League was implemented for the first time, it was claimed that UEFA considered a change that could be valid in the coming years, but no approval was granted.
According to a report in the Times newspaper, it was stated that UEFA did not accept the change to eliminate extra time in the last 16 rounds and subsequent matches of the Champions League and proceed directly to penalty shootouts. It was expressed that the rule change discussed in the UEFA Club Association Committee could reduce the burden on players due to the intense fixture schedule, but there were also objections that it would provide an unfair advantage to the home team in the second leg.
Additionally, it was pointed out that if extra time were eliminated, weaker teams would not prefer attacking football to take the match to penalties, which is also undesirable.
MATCHES GOING TO EXTRA TIME ARE GOING TO PENALTIES
The report shared information that after the elimination of the away goals rule, 37 matchups in the Champions League went to extra time, and 15 of them went to penalty shootouts. In the Europa League and Conference League, it was reported that just over half of the matches that went to extra time ended in penalties. Furthermore, it was emphasized that the changed format in the Champions League has directed teams towards more attacking football, and clubs have realized early on that they should focus on winning rather than drawing in the league stage.