UEFA has received informal proposals to eliminate extra time in knockout matches in the Champions League.
Recent meetings in Nyon between representatives of the Global Players' Union FIFPRO, including President Sergio Marchi, and UEFA officials, led by President Aleksander Ceferin, could lead to a groundbreaking change in the Champions League: the elimination of extra time.
Although the discussions are still in the informal stage and no official proposal has been made, the momentum is growing around the idea. Players have long been concerned about the non -repellent schedule of the fixture, the increased playing time and physical tension. A possible solution, as reported by The Guardian for the first time, would be to completely delete extra time – although any changes would not come into effect in the current tournament.
UEFA is well aware of the toll that modern football players take and Ceferin has openly recognized the problem with several times. Under this potential new rule, all knockout phase competitions that end in a draw would go directly to the penalties, so that 30 minutes extra fatigue and tension were eliminated.
The trend of removing extra time has already received a grip in various competitions. The Super Cup of Spain, now held in Saudi Arabia, has adopted the format. UEFA Super Cup, such as the Sevilla Vs. Manchester City Clash from last year, also skips extra time and immediately goes to punishing when they are recorded. Many domestic cup tournaments and competitions in third place in large international competitions have already implemented comparable measures.
If adopted, the Champions League would still undergo an important transformation, using the traditional half-hour of extra game to decide many closely disputed encounters-a real revolution for the tournament.