UEFA scraps away goals rule starting from 2021-2022 season

ANKARA

The UEFA on Thursday announced abolishing the away goals rule from all European club competitions starting from the 2021-2022 season.

"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," the UEFA said in a statement.

The away goals rule was used to determine the winner of a two-legged knockout tie in which both teams had scored the same number of goals, with the team scoring more goals away from home considered the winner.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said that the away goals rule was "intrinsic part of UEFA competitions" since 1965 but its fairness was questioned by football stakeholders.

"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," he added.