Uefa will launch ABBA penalty shoot-out trial during the European Under-17 Championship finals. It means that Team A starts, followed by two kicks from Team B, and so on. The ABBA penalty shoot-out trial will be used in both the Women’s tournament in the Czech Republic and the Men’s tournament in Croatia. The order of penalty kicks taken by teams in shoot-outs will be changed. It’s part of the “fair play” initiative started by lawmakers of The IFAB and supported by Uefa.
Bobby Madley explains ABBA
During the PL Asia Trophy the ABBA penalty shoot-out will also be used. Referee Bobby Madley explains it to you on video. Below that you can read a written explanation as well.
There'll be a different format for the #PLAsiaTrophy penalty shoot-out#PL referee Bobby Madley explains the meaning of ABBA…. pic.twitter.com/83rsFgJXZu
— Premier League (@premierleague) 19 juli 2017
The team that starts the penalty series has a higher chance to win, because the mental pressure will be higher. The starting team has the advantage to come in a leading position. “The experiment is looking at whether the advantage for the team taking the first penalty in a pair of spot kicks in a shoot-out could be reduced”, says Uefa. IFAB has said the chance to win if you start a penalty series is about 60%.
How the ABBA penalty shoot-out trial works
- 1st kick: Team A – 2nd kick: Team B
- 3rd kick: Team B – 4th kick: Team A
- 5th kick: Team A – 6th kick: Team B
- 7th kick: Team B – 8th kick: Team A
- 9th kick: Team A – 10th kick: Team B
In the case of equality
• 11th kick: Team B – 12th kick: Team A
If still equal
• 13th kick: Team A – 14th kick: Team B, (and so on)
What it means for the referee
As a result, the ABBA penalty shoot-out trial does only need some admin changes for the referee. The procedure before starting the penalty series is the same. Uefa explains: “In the penalty shoot-out, as is currently the case, the referee will first toss a coin to decide which end of the pitch the penalty kicks will be taken at. And, as now, he/she will then toss the coin again, and the team winning this toss will decide whether to take the first or second penalty.”
Your thoughs of this trial?
What are your thoughts on this new trial? Please share them below.