The away goals rule will be abolished in all European club competitions from the start of the 2021/22 season, UEFA has confirmed.
For decades, goals scored away from home have carried more weight in Champions League and Europa League knockout ties, determining the winner in the event of a draw after two legs.
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Initially introduced to encourage visiting teams to attack on their travels, many feel the rule has only made home sides more cautious.
There have also been questions over fairness, particularly as extra-time gives one team more minutes to score away goals.
Hence, UEFA has today announced away goals are a thing of the past.
President Aleksander Ceferin said: “The away goals rule has been an intrinsic part of UEFA competitions since it was introduced in 1965.
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“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.”
Ceferin 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.
“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.”
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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.”
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