The Away Goals Rule: What It Was and Why UEFA Scrapped It
The away goals rule was a tie-breaker for two-legged knockout ties. If the total score was level after both matches, the team that had scored more goals away from home went through.
How it worked
Suppose Team A beat Team B 2-1 at home, then lost 1-0 away. The aggregate score is 2-2. Team B scored one goal away, Team A none, so Team B went through on away goals.
If away goals were also level, the tie went to extra time. In most competitions, away goals still counted in extra time, which meant a visiting team that scored in extra time often forced the home side to score twice.
Why it was introduced
UEFA first used the rule in 1965, in the Cup Winners' Cup. At the time, travel was hard, pitches and crowds were unfamiliar, and home advantage was huge. Away goals rewarded teams that attacked on the road and reduced the number of replays and coin tosses.
Why UEFA scrapped it
In June 2021, UEFA announced the rule would be abolished from the 2021-22 season in all its club competitions. Its reasons:
- Home advantage had shrunk dramatically, thanks to better travel, pitches and stadiums.
- The rule made home teams in the first leg cautious, afraid to concede an away goal, so matches were often duller.
- Extra time unfairly favoured the team playing away in the second leg, which had 30 extra minutes to score an away goal.
What happens now
A two-legged tie that is level on aggregate goes to 30 minutes of extra time in the second leg. If it is still level, the tie is decided by a penalty shootout. Where the goals were scored no longer matters.
Famous away-goals ties
- 2019: Tottenham reached the Champions League final on away goals after beating Ajax 3-2 in Amsterdam, with Lucas Moura's hat-trick, to win 3-3 on aggregate.
- 2017: Monaco knocked out Manchester City on away goals in the round of 16 after a 6-6 aggregate.
Some domestic cups and other confederations kept the rule for a while after UEFA dropped it, but it has become rare.
See how today's Champions League works in the new format explained, and how shootouts work in penalty kick rules.