Olaleye Idowu
UEFA is considering scrapping extra time from Champions League knockout rounds.
This is in a bid to reduce the number of minutes played by top clubs.
The Guardian reports that ties could now go straight to penalties.
However, a change midway through this TV rights cycle, which runs until 2027, is unlikely.
Extra time has long been a point of contention among European football’s stakeholders, amid arguments that players’ welfare needs to be taken into consideration.
This season, UEFA has introduced the expanded group stage for the Champions League, with each team playing a minimum of eight games.
Later in the summer, 12 European clubs will participate in an expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the US this summer.
Last season just three Champions League fixtures from the last 16 onwards went into extra time, while none at all required an additional period in 2022-23.
Four ties in the 2023-24 Europa League went the distance, down from six the season before.
