Inter Milan pulled 3-3 with Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, with the result that Thierry Henry led to the return of road goals after being demolished in 2021
Thierry Henry called UEFA to restore the road target rule after Barcelona 3-3 had drawn with Inter Milan in the first stage of their semi-final collision of the Champions League. Denzel Dumfries yielded a brace for visitors after Marcus Thuram gave them an early lead.
However, strikes of Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres and a goal of Yann Sommer means that the draw on the second part of the San Siro is on its way next week. And Henry, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2009, believes that the fact that Inter scored three goals from home should be rewarded.
“I know it has been time and we have to accept it, but I was off-air with Jamie (Carragher) and I have something like that:” How can you score three goals from home and you have no advantage? “Henry said on CBS Sports.
“Goals for me were huge. You score three goals and you still have no advantage 0-0 at home … But as I said, I didn't think Inter Milan would go the way they just did because of how they recently played.
“So you have to give them a lot of praise for matching what Barcelona gave them and to get strong in play. I didn't expect that to be honest.”
The road rule was deleted in 2021, where UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin explained at the time: “The road target rule is an intrinsic part of UEFA competitions since it was introduced in 1965.
“However, the issue of their abolition has been debated at various UEFA meetings in recent years. Although there was no unanimity of views, many coaches, fans and other stakeholders of football have questioned honesty and have given a preference to the leadership for the rule.
“The impact of the rule now goes against his original goal, because it is now in fact reflecting the homepeams – especially in the first legs – because they are afraid to give a goal that their opponents would give a crucial advantage.
“There is also criticism of the unfairness, especially in extra time, to force the home team to score twice when the road team has scored. It is honest to say that home advantage is no longer as important as it ever was.
“Taking into account the consistency throughout Europe in terms of playing styles, and many different factors that have led to a decrease in the home advantage, the UEFA Executive Committee has made the correct decision when accepting the opinion that it is no longer suitable for an away game to bear more weight than one that is scored at home.”
Thinking about the result, Inter-boss Simone Inzaghi said: “We played a great game, were clearly 2-0, I still don't understand why that goal is not allowed, so there are regrets, but we know that we have a great achievement against my opinion in my opinion.