UEFA, IFAB Set to Adjust 2 Rules That Affected Arsenal and Atletico Madrid in UCL

• UEFA hosted a successful first season of the new format of the expanded UEFA Champions League
• There are set to be changes next season after two major issues involving Arsenal and Atletico Madrid
• Julian Alvarez's disallowed penalty against Real Madrid and Arsenal's ceded home advantage vs the same team

UEFA and IFAB are set to make adjustments to two rules ahead of the second edition of the new Champions League next season after complaints from fans and clubs.

Paris Saint-Germain won their first Champions League after beating Inter Milan 5-0 in the final held at the Allianz Arena, making the first edition of the new format historic.

The Parisians also beat all English teams they played in the competition: Manchester City in the group stage, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal in the Round of 16 quarter-final and semi-final.

The competition was not without controversies, particularly in the knockout stage, during Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16 and Arsenal vs Real Madrid in the quarter-final.

Julian Alvarez's penalty during the shootout was disallowed after the Argentine striker was adjudged to have made double contact with the ball after slipping.

The 15-time winners faced Arsenal next in the quarter-final, and were drafted as the home team for the second leg. They lost both legs 5-1 on aggregate and were eliminated.

UEFA, IFAB set to make rule change

According to Mirror UK, UEFA has agreed to alter the rule which gave Real Madrid the home advantage in the second leg against Arsenal in the quarter-final.

It also affected Arsenal in the semi-final as they played away to Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg, despite finishing in the top eight, while PSG finished 15th.

In the 36-team table, teams that finished 1st to 8th go straight to the Round of 16, while teams that finished 9th to 24th faced a playoff before qualifying for the Round of 16.

UEFA will change the rule that made Madrid play as the home team in the second leg. As from next season, teams that finished 1st to 8th will play their home games in the second leg throughout the knockout stage.

The second rule change is not in the hands of UEFA, but the International Football Association Board (IFAB), as it is a rule that affects football generally.

According to The Athletic, the incident involving Alvarez was escalated to La Liga by Atletico Madrid, which in turn escalated it to UEFA, which discussed it with FIFA.

IFAB has now decided that if a penalty taker accidentally makes contact with the ball with both feet, and the kick is successful, it must now be retaken — a change from the previous rule, which said that it should be counted as a miss.

UEFA propose 3 rule changes in European competitions

It was earlier reported by Legit.ng that UEFA are reportedly proposing three new rule changes to the European club competitions ahead of next season after the first year of the new format.

The 2024/25 season witnessed a new format: a single table of 36 teams, with each team playing eight different opponents each in the Champions League and Europa League and six each in the Conference League.

Source: Legit.ng