UEFA make controversial rule change set to impact Newcastle United in Champions League - on one condition
UEFA have introduced a fresh rule change to the Champions League that could impact Newcastle United this coming season.
Newcastle qualified for the Champions League under the new European Performance Spot rule introduced following the competition’s format change in 2023.
The Magpies finished fifth in the Premier League but qualified for the Champions League as an extra spot in the competition was awarded to England due to the performance of its clubs during the 2024/25 season.
Newcastle will be in pot four in the Champions League draw that takes place on August 28. They will be drawn against eight other teams, two from each pot, one at home and one away.
The Magpies have a coefficient of 23.039 which is the default coefficient for English clubs who haven’t played in Europe in the last five years. Newcastle played in the Champions League during the 2023/24 season but finished bottom of their group, which only awarded them 8.000 coefficient points, less than the Premier League’s default.
Newcastle will be looking to make the most of the new Swiss League format this time around and reach the knockout stages of the competition for the first time.
And it’s there where UEFA’s changes will take hold.
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UEFA announced knockout round changes in Champions League
The top eight teams in the 36-team table qualify for the last-16 of the Champions League. Then teams placed 9th to 16th play a seeded knockout round playoff match against the corresponding team ranked 17th to 24th (9th v 24th, 10th v 23rd, 16th v 17th etc.) with the higher ranked team given home advantage in the second leg.
Second leg home advantage is where UEFA’s changes come into play. While the last-16 matches give priority to the teams that finished in the top eight of the league phase over those who qualified through a knockout play-off tie, the quarter-final and semi-final ties were decided randomly.
UEFA has tweaked things slightly for the upcoming competition with the rules also applying in the Europa League and Conference League. The higher-ranked team will continue to get a second-leg home tie in the last-16 but only the sides ranked 1st to 4th carry that advantage through to the quarter-final.
Then only the teams ranked 1st and 2nd carry that advantage through to the semi-final. The only exception is that if a team ranked 1st to 4th is knocked out, the team that knocked them out will then acquire their group phase seeding, if it is superior to their own.
For example, if Newcastle United finished 16th in the Champions League group phase, they would play 17th in the knockout round play-off match with the second leg being played at St James’ Park. Winning that match would see them reach the last-16, where they would face the team ranked either 1st or 2nd in the league phase with the first leg taking place at St James’ Park and the second leg coming away from home.
Winning that tie and beating a top-seeded club would see Newcastle progress to the quarter-final with home advantage in the second leg. The winner of the quarter-final tie would then get home advantage in the semi-final second leg tie.
A controversial change by UEFA
The change has been criticised for creating an imbalance in the knockout rounds as it means that teams who finish 3rd and 4th in the league phase are guaranteed to be away from home in the semi-final second leg should they reach that stage.
This is because they will either come up against a side ranked 1st or 2nd, or an opponent that knocked them out and acquired their ranking.
While this is sure to irk some teams further down the line, especially ones with expectations of reaching the latter stages of the competition, Newcastle’s priorities will simply be to reach the knockout rounds for the first time before taking things in their stride from there.
Though there’s no doubt that being at St James’ Park in the second leg of a crucial European tie would have its advantages.