UEFA has abolished the away goals rule. What data was used to decide?

For the first time in more than 50 years, UEFA is abolishing the away goals rule, which in knockout battles decided the advancing team in the event of a draw. What data was used to make the decision?

The UEFA Executive Committee has approved a proposal to remove the away goals rule from all club competitions under UEFA’s umbrella. The abolition of the rule will come into effect from the 2021/22 season.

Public opinion on the abolition of the rule is not entirely unanimous. According to some people it is a step forward, according to others it is a tool for stronger clubs. Some would take the abolition of the rule only if the double-header goes into extra time.

But what is certain is that the repeal will happen and no hybrid rule will definitely arise.

And why did the repeal of the rule happen in the first place? According to the statistics published by UEFA, there is a very clear trend of decreasing the gap between the number of wins of home and away teams, as well as between the average number of goals scored at home and away.

As far as the difference in the number of wins is concerned, in the mid-1970s the ratio of home wins to away wins was 61% to 19%; currently the ratio is 47% to 30%.

As for the difference in the number of goals scored, previously the home team scored an average of 2.02 goals per game, while the away team scored 0.95. Now the average is 1.58 compared to 1.15.

Source: UEFA