The Champions League had an away goals law from 1965 until 2021 – so why did UEFA ditch them?
(Image credit: Getty)
The Champions League no longer has away goals. UEFA have got rid of them.
That's right. Gone is the mental arithmetic of trying to add up how many goals your team has managed to score in an away ground; no longer will teams endure the bitterness of exiting a tournament without actually losing either leg.
It's one of the staples of the Champions League knockouts – and the Europe League, for that matter. So why have UEFA made this decision?
Why was the away goals rule scrapped?
We've been here before in football. Golden Goal was an initiative around the turn of the millennium that UEFA thought would raise the entertainment level. The idea was that a "next goal wins" situation in extra-time would see both sides go hammer-and-tongs. It didn't work out that way.
In fact, teams were a lot more cautious, knowing that throwing everything at a precious winner made them leakier at the back. When the lottery of the penalty shootout is favourable to chucking players forward, it's no advantage to anyone.
The away goals rule is similar. It seems like it would encourage the visitors to come out of their shell and attack away from home – but in actuality, this wasn't always the case. And though the rule has been a staple of the Champions League since 1965, it wasn't popular with everyone.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
"There is criticism of the unfairness, especially in extra time, of obliging the home team to score twice when the away team has scored," UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin conceded.
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"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."
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
