Silver goal

From ArticleWorld

The silver goal rule was introduced to the game of football in order to decide a match in the extra time period of the match. The rule stipulated that if a goal is scored in the first half of extra time and is not cancelled out by a goal by the opposition before the conclusion of that half, then the scoring team will win the match without a second half of extra time.

Replacing the Golden Goal

The silver goal rule was introduced in 2002 following an application by UEFA to footballs governing body IFAB. It was proposed to replace the unsuccessful and much derided golden goal rule, which was introduced in 1994 and had decided matches from Euro 96 up until the 2002 World Cup. The rule was initially sited in an edition of The Times in England in 1992, it was discussed as a method of preventing the lottery of a penalty shoot-out. The Golden Goal unlike the silver goal meant that a match would end when a goal was scored at any point during the two extra time periods, with the goal scoring team being declared the victors. The Golden Goal decided numerous important matches, but was widely disliked for it’s rather sudden climax of a match. The Silver Goal was seen as a compromise with the team who conceded a goal having the remainder of the half in, which to equalise, supposedly adding to the excitement of the match.

Silver Goal’s

The silver goal was a short lived concept, the first match that it would have been used was the 2003 UEFA cup final between Porto and Celtic, however Porto won the match in regulation time meaning that it was never used. The first ever Silver goal was scored by Greece’s Traianos Dellas against the Czech Republic in the semi-final of the European Championships. The goal was scored just a few seconds before the conclusion of the first half of Extra Time effectively making it a golden goal. Greece would go on to win the European Championship in the final against Portugal, and Dellas’ goal would be the only ever Silver goal to have decided a match after the rule was removed from the rule book by IFAB.