UEFA Considering 3 Major Champions League Changes After Arsenal Complaint

• UEFA is currently discussing the possibility of introducing three major changes to the Champions League format
• This comes despite the competition recently undergoing a significant revamp
• The potential tweaks aim to address growing concerns and criticisms surrounding the current format

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UEFA is considering three significant changes to the Champions League format, despite having only recently introduced a major overhaul to the competition.

The competition adopted a new 36-team league format for the first time, where each team played eight fixtures decided by UEFA's scheduling software.

The new format: pros and cons

Under the current system, the top eight teams automatically advance to the round of 16, while teams ranked 9th to 24th must compete in a two-legged knockout play-off.

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Although initially met with scepticism, the revamped format has been praised for introducing added excitement and unpredictability to the group stage.

However, not everyone is fully satisfied. For example, Liverpool topped the league table with 21 points but were knocked out in the following round by Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG went on to narrowly defeat Aston Villa in the quarter-finals and are now set to face Arsenal in the semi-finals after the Gunners convincingly beat Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate.

In the other semi-final, Barcelona will face Inter Milan, with the final scheduled to take place at Allianz Arena on 31 May.

Arsenal's grievances highlight fixture imbalances

One major criticism, particularly from Arsenal, centres on fixture layouts. Arsenal finished significantly higher than Real Madrid in the league table but still had to play the second leg of their round of 16 tie away from home.

They will face a similar situation against PSG in the semi-finals, despite PSG coming through the play-offs.

Barcelona also faces a disadvantage. They finished above Inter Milan in the standings but must play the decisive second leg in Milan.

Although the top eight teams were granted home advantage in the second leg of the round of 16, UEFA is now considering applying this rule throughout the entire knockout phase.

According to German outlet Bild, UEFA is reviewing three potential modifications:

Second leg advantage for higher-ranked teams

There’s growing support for awarding the higher-ranked team the second leg at home in all knockout rounds, not just the round of 16.

Scrapping extra time

UEFA may consider abolishing extra time altogether, opting instead to go straight to penalty shoot-outs after a draw.

However, it’s worth noting that IFAB—the body responsible for football’s laws—has not received any formal requests to implement this change.

Eliminating country protection

Another potential shift would remove the "country protection" rule.

This rule previously kept clubs from the same nation apart until the quarterfinals, but this season saw same-nation matchups as early as the play-offs and round of 16.

These included PSG vs. Brest, Bayern vs. Leverkusen, and Real Madrid vs. Atletico.

These topics will be on the agenda at UEFA’s Club Competitions Committee meeting on May 30, just one day before the Champions League final.

Partey Shines at Santiago Bernebeu

YEN.com.gh earlier reported the authoritative performance of Thomas Partey during Arsenal's second consecutive UCL win against Real Madrid on April 16.

The Gunners, who won the first leg quarter-final clash 3-0 at Emirate Stadium eight days earlier, repeated the form at Santiago Bernebeu, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli scoring the goals.

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Proofreading by Omoleye Omoruyi, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh