FIFA Considers scrapping of Penalty shootouts to decide matches, looking for alternatives

Having his say: Sepp Blatter speaks during the FIFA Congress in Budapest

The Penalty-out method of deciding football matches may be scrapped soon as FIFA President Sepp Blatter considers other options...


FIFA President Sepp Blatter has asked German great Franz Beckenbauer to find an alternative to the 'tragedy' of penalty shootouts.

Blatter told the FIFA Congress on Friday that football 'loses its essence' when matches are settled by penalty kicks.

Football 'can be a drama, even a tragedy, when we go to penalty kicks,' Blatter said. 'Football should not go to one to one, because when football goes to penalty kicks, it loses its essence as a team sport.'

It can be recalled that  Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in a shootout last weekend to win the Champions League after the German side had dominated a game that finished in a 1-1 draw after extra time.

Beckenbauer, the former Bayern captain and president, heads FIFA's Task Force Football 2014 panel which Blatter created in 2010 to improve football before the next World Cup in Brazil.

'Perhaps Franz Beckenbauer with his Football 2014 group can present us with a solution, if not today then tomorrow.'

The task force has met several teams, but has shown little public interest in scrapping penalty shootouts.

Beckenbauer's task force deputy chairman Kalusha Bwalya also has recent experience of a shootout.

Bwalya, a Zambian playing great, saw his home nation win the Africa Cup of Nations in February on a shootout after drawing 0-0 with Ivory Coast.

SO WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVES?

The Ice Hockey style
An even more demanding test of nerves than the spot-kick. The player taking the 'penalty' runs with the ball from the half way line, and has to beat the waiting goalkeeper in a one-on-one. Peter Schmeichel's dream scenario.

Play until they drop Type I
They could just drop the idea altogether. In this scenario, extra time carries on until someone scores a winner - regardless of time. With the players dropping like flies, this would surely be the football equivalent of a battle to the death.

Play until they drop Type II
Exactly the same as the first version, yet every five minutes a player from each team is taken off the pitch. So when 125 minutes is on the clock, the sides go to 10 players, at 130, nine players. By 150 minutes we could be watching a very low octane 5-a-side game on an 11-a-side pitch - if it got that far, that is.

Judging panel
A set of judges could - based on the performances over 90 or 120 minutes - decide which team were the worthier to progress, despite the scores being level. Likely to divide opinion, and maybe even start a riot!

Rock, paper, scissors
We could take football out of the equation. 'Bastian Schweinsteiger naively goes scissors, and Steven Gerrard goes rock... England win Euro 2012!' Unfortunately it seems a more likely scenario than beating Germany on penalties.

Call it a draw?
Both sides could just dodge the agony of penalties by accepting the result after extra time. Deciding who progresses to the next round could be a potential pitfall of this alternative.







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  1. why not use TOSSING OF COIN or THROWING OF DICE method.mtschewww , enemies of chelsea

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  2. what do these men want to achieve by doing all this,or is it because Chelsea are champions?i know people are behind this plan.Because they are against English teams,know matter the method they will adopt,Who God want to win will definitely will.So nothing like LUCK Again,They should just turn FOOTBALL TO SPARTACUS,WHERE PLAYERS WILL BE COMING TO PITCH WITH KNIVES,BOWS, ARROW,SWORDS AND SHIELD SO THAT IT BE LIKE THE ARENA (BLOOD AND SAND).

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  3. Why didn't they consider initiating such formula when M.U won Chelsea with penalty shootout, is it bcos Germans are now involved? What a shame.

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