Silver goal for Champions League

The UEFA Champions League final between Juventus FC and AC Milan will be the second match to feature the silver goal ruling.

Fairer outcome
The new way of deciding a drawn match was first used in the UEFA Cup final last Wednesday and UEFA's Director of Communications, Mike Lee, said the final showed the new system produced a fairer outcome than was the case with the golden goal.

Successful introduction
In the UEFA Cup final, Brazilian forward Derlei gave Porto a 3-2 lead after 115 minutes, and although Celtic failed to score in the extra five minutes the new system at least allowed them to seek an equaliser. UEFA subsequently hailed the new system's successful debut.

Added drama
"The UEFA Cup final showed the advantage of the silver goal," said Lee. "It gave the match a much fairer way of ending and it led to some of the most dramatic moments of the night. Celtic had the opportunity to come back and the moments they were attacking and looking for an equaliser were some of the most dramatic of the entire match. In that sense, it already showed its worth."

Negative play
He continued: "The golden goal meant that the match often finished in difficult circumstances, particularly for the losing club and fans and often led to negative play in extra time. The UEFA Cup final showed that for the players, fans and referee the new system is fairer and produces a better conclusion to the game."

Safety benefits
Lee added that the new system also had advantages from a safety and security perspective and also for broadcasters and other media covering the match. "With the golden goal, there were issues around stadium safety and certain problems in terms of the huge additional pressure it places on the referee," he said.

Rule recap
Under the new rule, if the match ends in a draw after 90 minutes, a first 15 minutes of extra time will be played. If one team is in the lead at the end of the 15 minutes, that team will be declared the winners of the match

Second chance
If the two teams are still level after 15 minutes of extra time, a second 15-minute period will be played. If the result remains deadlocked at the end of the second period of extra time, a penalty shoot-out will determine the winners.

Trial basis
The system is being used on a trial basis in this season's two major club finals and may be introduced in the knockout stages of all UEFA competitions from next season.