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UEFA ARE SET TO MAKE A CHANGE TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEXT SEASON, JUST ONE YEAR AFTER INTRODUCING AN ENTIRELY NEW FORMAT, FOLLOWING COMPLAINTS FROM ARSENAL 12:25, 01 Jun 2025 UEFA are set
to make a rule change to the Champions League next season, just a year after implementing a completely new format. The Champions League came to an extraordinary climax in Munich on Saturday
night with Paris Saint-Germain winning the competition for the first time by thrashing Inter Milan 5-0. Despite the final being one-sided, the European football organisers successfully
orchestrated the expanded 36-team format with plenty of dramatic matches. But it appears they are not entirely satisfied with their new design. Under the current system, a team's
position in the league phase dictates their seeding for the play-off round. This means the top eight teams receive a bye to the round of 16, where they face a play-off winner and have the
advantage of playing at home in the second leg. However, home advantage is determined by a random draw after the round of 16 due to UEFA's preference for an 'open draw', so
teams who performed better in the group stage could find themselves obliged to play the home leg first at the quarter-final or semi-final stage. Arsenal finished third in the league phase,
ahead of Real Madrid and PSG, but were dealt a blow with away draws for both the quarter-final and semi-final second legs. Article continues below Despite dumping out Real 5-1 on aggregate,
Mikel Arteta's squad reportedly expressed their dissatisfaction over the situation, feeling that their consistent performance in the league phase was not rewarded in the knockouts.
Their complaints have not gone unnoticed, as reported by German newspaper Bild, UEFA is almost certain to alter the way they conduct the knockout ties. The UEFA Club Competitions Committee
met on Friday and reportedly agreed on the proposed change before the Champions League final – and final approval is now 'considered a formality'. Article continues below
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snooker, F1 stories and more, right here Other potential changes were also discussed, such as proceeding directly to penalty shoot-outs instead of extra time and preventing two clubs from
the same nation from facing off until the competition's later stages. However, no consensus was reached on these ideas. Arsenal weren't the only club to be disadvantaged by the
'open' draw system: Barcelona had to play at home for the first leg of their quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund, despite finishing second in the league phase.