UEFA Considering Amending Champions League Rule That Left Arsenal at a Disadvantage vs PSG
- UEFA is considering changing a Champions League rule after Arsenal, one of the top seeds, played the second leg of the semi-final away from home
- The Gunners lost to Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on aggregate and exited the competition on Wednesday night
- PSG will battle Inter Milan in the final at the Allianz Arena and have been tipped to emerge victorious
UEFA is considering changing a Champions League rule that put Arsenal at a disadvantage in their semi-final against PSG. The Gunners finished in the top eight during the group stage, unlike PSG.
Source: Getty Images
What Champions League rule could UEFA change?
Arsenal lost 3-1 on aggregate to PSG in the Champions League semi-final and will end the 2024/25 season without a trophy.
They also lost the Premier League title to Liverpool and were eliminated from the FA Cup by Manchester United and the Carabao Cup by Newcastle United. This marks the fifth consecutive season they will end without a trophy.
According to The I, UEFA is considering changes to the Champions League to prevent a situation where Arsenal had to play their second leg away against PSG, despite being one of the top seeds.
The Gunners finished third in the 36-team group stage, introduced this season. The top eight teams automatically qualified for the round of 16."
A draw decides the fixture schedule, leaving Arsenal with little advantage. They faced Real Madrid and PSG at home in the first legs before playing the second legs away from home.
The two giants finished outside the automatic qualification spots. PSG finished 15th, while Madrid, the defending champions, finished 11th.
Officials have had discussions, the report adds, about changing the rules so that seeded teams get a second leg at home throughout the competition until they meet another seeded team. At this point, a team that finished higher will play the second leg at home.
Another idea that has been floated is giving the group winner a last-16 tie against the lowest-ranked team from the play-offs. Liverpool faced PSG in the round of 16 after an impressive league phase.
Source: Getty Images
Other changes UEFA will consider
Other potential changes the European governing body will consider include the potential removal of extra time in knockout matches, greater home advantage for top eight teams and the re-introduction of the rule preventing teams from the same country from facing each other in the Round of 16.
Arsenal's Champions League campaign
The Gunners were playing their second season in Europe's premier competition after a seven-year absence.
They reached the quarter-final last season but lost to their perennial rivals, Bayern Munich. This season, they were brilliant.
They finished third in the league phase with just one defeat, courtesy of finalists Inter Milan. They qualified directly for the Round of 16, where they thrashed PSV Eindhoven 9-3. Their most impressive win of the season came against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, where they beat the record champions 5-1 on aggregate.
Arteta's team destroyed PSV Eindhoven 9-3 in the round of 16 before they crushed Real Madrid 5-1 quarter-final.
“It has to hurt because if not it will happen again. We have to make more things and have more availability and we have to have more options. That's the next step," Arteta said via Arsenal.com.
Congratulations to PSG for being in the final, and then I want to thank you, our supporters, for the incredible journey that we have had together.
“The amount of support, how much they tried to lift the team and how much belief there was that we could actually do it and it’s a very sad day, they're very disappointed.
Supercomputer predicts Champions League winner
TUKO.co.ke earlier reported that Opta's supercomputer predicted the Champions League winner after PSG and Inter Milan booked their spots in the final.
The Parisians have a 53.6% chance of winning the competition, while Inter Milan have a 46.4% chance.
PSG are seeking to become the first French team to win it since Marseille, while the Nerazzurri are the last Italian team to lift it.
Martin Moses, the head of sports department, contributed to this article by adding details about the other changes UEFA could consider.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
