AWAY goals will no longer be a factor in the European club competitions from next year after Uefa decided to ditch the rule.

The decision made by the Uefa club competitions committee in Porto prior to the Champions League final will be implemented if passed by Uefa’s executive committee, who are set to meet in early July. If the new law is passed the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League will all be exempt of the away goals rule.

First used in 1965, the away goals rule stipulates that in knockout European football, the team who has scored more away goals advances, if the match has ended in a tie.

However, it is now believed to be far easier to score an away goal than was the case when the rule was first introduced.

Bayern Munich and Juventus both were knocked out of the Champions League this season on goal difference, losing 3-3 to PSG and 4-4 to Porto respectively. As first reported by The Times, the rule has been under increasing scrutiny in the past eight years with two separate attempts made within that time frame to scrap the rule.

Arsene Wenger lobbied to have the rule abolished in 2013 and a separate attempt was made five years later.

It is believed that the inclusion of the rule in European knock-out football this season, despite numerous games held at neutral venues and games played in front of empty stadiums, has won over key support to change the rule.

A source told the Times: “The view is that it is much easier to score an away goal now than it was in the Seventies and Eighties, when football was lower-scoring and stadiums were more hostile. There was less visibility surrounding a match in terms of refereeing, quality of the pitch and organisation, so home advantage is not so significant [now].”