The European Union of Football Associations (UEFA) is considering the possibility of canceling additional time in the playoffs of the Champions League, writes The Guardian. The ability to immediately move on to the penalty shootout is discussed, while it is specified that these changes are unlikely until the end of the current TV contract in 2027.

Additional time has long been disputes among the interested parties in European football, writes the British tabloid. Some players' trade unions insist that his cancellation will reduce the load on the players in the conditions of the oversaturated calendar. The expanded group stage of the Champions League, in which each team holds at least eight matches, only aggravated the situation. In the summer, 12 European clubs in the expanded club championship of the FIFA in the United States will be added to this.

Until now, the main concessions of the elite clubs in the issue of a dense calendar concerned national tournaments - for example, in England, replaying in the Cup of England were canceled.

Reducing matches for 30 minutes in two -day confrontations would partially solve the problem of workload at the end of the season. It would also like clubs that pass through exhausting qualification rounds in July and August.

Outsiders who are harder to maintain the pace of the game in additional time against more equipped teams would consider such changes more fair. In addition, this step could please broadcasters: he would reduce the risk of an unexpected lengthening of the broadcast and would allow you to go faster to the most tense part - a penalty shootout.

Last season, only three champions League matches from the 1/8 finals, and in the 2022/23 draw, have moved to extra time.. In the European League 2023/24 of additional time, four meetings required, which is less than six years earlier.

UEFA, in response to the request of The Guardian, said that so far the question was raised only at the informal level and specific proposals have not been made. Any change should be approved by the Executive Committee of UEFA, which was last made large adjustments to the European Cups in 2021, when the rule of the exit goal was canceled.

The precedent for the abolition of additional time already exists - in 2023 UEFA excluded it from the matches for the Super Cup.