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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Charlotte Coates

Does the away goal rule in the Champions League still exist?

The away goals rule in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League has been scrapped by UEFA.

UEFA's controversial rule had been in place since 1965, but was discarded in 2021 ahead of the 2021/22 season. Liverpool's run to the 2022 final was the first campaign without the rule.

Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the last-16 of the competition and if the tie was a draw on aggregate at the end of the second leg at the Bernabeu then the tie would go straight to extra-time and then penalties.

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UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin spoke about the move to abolish the away goal came down to wanting to ensure fairness.

Modern travel and advances in how players recover has made away games less strenuous, and the amount of away wins have almost doubled since the 1970s.

Ceferin said: "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."

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