The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that has scored more goals "away from home" win the tiebreaker. This is sometimes expressed by saying that away goals "count double" in the event of a tie,[1] though in practice the team with more away goals is simply recorded as the victor, rather than having additional or 'double' goals added to their total.
The away goals rule is most often invoked in two-leg fixtures, where the initial result is determined by the aggregate score — i.e. the scores of both games are added together. In many competitions, the away goals rule is the first tie-breaker in such cases, with a penalty shootout as the second tie-breaker if each team has scored the same number of away goals. Rules vary as to whether the away goals rule applies only to the end of normal time of the second leg, or applies in extra time as well. It was first introduced by UEFA in the 1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup.
Since the early 2020s in association football, the application of the away goals rule has been repeatedly scrutinized and ultimately abolished in numerous competitions. There is empirical evidence that the away goals rule reduces the total number of goals scored during the match and benefits visiting teams in the second leg due to the different perception of risk in the first leg and the second leg.[2] There are two other commonly cited reasons for abandonment of the rule. One is the fact of away goals being an anachronism of 1960s football when allocation of stadium capacity specifically for travelling away supporters did not exist as a practice, which is no longer the case with more widely available modes of transportation and ease of travel for supporters.[3] Another more unsportsmanlike reason is the fact that, in the event of extra time at the end of the second leg, the benefit of the away goals rule is not equal to both teams; for instance the team playing away in the first leg only has 90 minutes to score an away goal that is perceived as more valuable, whereas if the tie progresses to extra time at the end of the second leg the other team will have additional 30 minutes (30 minute extra time period following the 90 minutes of regulation time) to score an away goal.[3] The away goals rule was abolished in all UEFA club competitions from the 2021–22 season,[4] all CONMEBOL club competitions from the 2022 season,[5] then in all AFC club competitions from the 2023–24 season.[6]
^For example: IFAB (July 2007). "Procedures to determine the winner of a match or home-and-away". Laws of the Game 2007/2008(PDF). Zürich: FIFA. p. 54. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-08. Away Goals: Competition rules may provide that where teams play each other home and away, if the scores are equal after the second match, any goals scored at the ground of the opposing team will count double.
^Varela-Quintana, C.; del Corral, J.; Prieto-Rodriguez, J. (2018). "Order Effect Under the "Away-Goals Rule:" Evidence from CONMEBOL Competitions" (PDF). International Journal of Sport Finance. 13 (1): 82–102.
^ ab"Away goals rule: What is it & why did UEFA drop it from Champions League & Europa League?". Goal.com. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
^Cite error: The named reference uefa.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"South America scraps away-goals rule for club competitions". Yahoo News. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
^Banerjee, Ritabrata (1 August 2022). "When will the 2023/24 AFC Champions League and AFC Cup be held?". Goal.
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home-and-away series with the winner determined by aggregate goals over both legs. If aggregate goals are equal, the awaygoalsrule is applied. If awaygoals...
Their quarter-final and semi-final victories were both won via the awaygoalsrule. Watched by a crowd of 83,179, Ajax took the lead in the 5th minute...
victories; they beat Bayern Munich on the awaygoalsrule, while they won all their other ties by at least five goals. Real Madrid's matches ranged from close...
Greatest goal differential in all matches amongst the concerned teams Most goals scored in all matches amongst the concerned teams Most goals scored away from...
the awaygoalsrule may be used to determine the winners, in which case the winner is the team that scored the most goals in the leg they played away from...
FAR (thanks to the awaygoalsrule). The Tunisian club CS Sfaxien won the cup in 2007 by beating the Sudanese Al Merreikh 5 goals to 2 in aggregate score...
Darius Miezelis (Lithuania) 2–2 on aggregate, Rudar Velenje won on awaygoalsrule. 26 June 1999 17:30 Štadión pod Dubňom, Žilina Attendance: 2,339 Referee:...
and Valencia, with Valencia winning on the awaygoalsrule. Forest won the home leg 2–1, with both goals coming from Ian Bowyer. Valencia won the return...
however Liverpool progressed to the quarter-finals on the awaygoalsrule, having scored more goalsaway from home than their opponents. Their opponents in the...
Galician team was a 1–1 draw, thus Villarreal were promoted on the awaygoalsrule. Villarreal's La Liga debut started with a match against reigning European...
Referee: Slavik Kazaryan (Armenia) TPS 3–3 Sion on aggregate. TPS won on awaygoalsrule. 28 June 1998 (1998-06-28) Ismat Gayibov Stadium, Baku Attendance:...
tied on aggregate, the awaygoalsrule would also be used. If still tied, 30 minutes of extra time would be played but the awaygoals scored during this time...
Away colours or road colours (also commonly known as away kits in British English, or away uniforms or road uniforms in American English) are a choice...
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