English news outlet The Guardian broke news that UEFA is pondering the elimination of extra time in the Champions League; if the aggregate score is tied after 90 minutes of the second leg, it goes straight to penalties. After removing the away goals rule a few seasons back, this is another questionable decision by Europe’s governing football body despite it giving teams a little breather. While it won’t be removed until at least 2027, extra time itself isn’t an issue and it’s not something that needs to be addressed or even remotely tinkered.
The addition of games brought about by the reformatting of the three main European competitions and the intercontinental cups like the Club World Cup is the main culprit here. The lattermost is probably the least enticing of them all because it’s nothing more than a glorified friendly tournament, even if it will be held every four years. Originally a straight knockout tournament, it has now introduced a group stage and then a knockout round much like the previous iteration of the Champions League.
The effect of removing an extra 30 minutes is negligible because if it was instead a whole 90 minutes removed (read: extra games weren’t added in the first place), then this discussion won’t even be a thing. Sure, the new Champions League format keeps teams on their toes by needing to keep up with a plethora of results, but the extra games will take a toll on the players. Teams like Bayern Munich who are unfortunate when it comes to injuries will bear the brunt of added games, ditto Real Madrid who have 0 fit center-backs ahead of their massive clash with Manchester City.
Speaking of which, Rodri spoke out on the addition of games last year and warned of a boycott of games. Some other players from top teams joined in on the calls. While the boycott was merely speculative, Rodri’s subsequent ACL injury and the rising occurrences of such injuries and similar ones in both men’s and women’s football begs the question: do the football bodies care about the players at all? Well, it’s obvious that the answer is no but they can’t get away with sacrificing players’ wellbeing for profit. They have to be called out on their misdeeds.
If you want to see another person’s point of view, consider watching this video below:
