How 3 Champions League rules changes could affect Celtic and Rangers as UEFA ‘consider’ shake up

The new format got up and running this year and UEFA could already be ready to make some big tweaks to the competition

Celtic enjoyed a successful debut campaign in the newly revamped Champions League.

And UEFA could now be ready to already make major changes to the format after just one season.

Brendan Rodgers and his troops booked a knockout spot in the competition after successfully finishing in the top 24 clubs from the new 36 team league phase and with that earned a crack at German giants Bayern Munich.

The Bundesliga big hitters needed a last-gasp leveller in Munich to break Celtic hearts with the tie looking poised to head for extra time with the Scottish champions 1-0 up on the night and 2-2 on aggregate before Vincent Kompany’s men snatched it at the death.

Celtic will be determined to get themselves back in beside Europe’s big boys but unlike last season they don’t have the luxury of direct qualification and they have to navigate one round safely to join the party.

Rivals Rangers lost out in the qualifying stages to Dynamo Kiev and finishing second will see them once again needing to jump a number of hurdles in order to land the big financial pay day and a spot in the Champions League proper.

But changes are already being mooted ahead of the next edition of the tournament with German publication Bild stating that THREE major switch ups are being considered and will be discussed by UEFA.

The first is getting rid of extra-time in the knockout rounds and heading straight for a penalty shootout. This would mean that in the events of a draw, the winner could be determined directly from the spot. Rather than an additional 30 minutes of action.

The second consideration is the return leg home advantage. Clubs finishing in the top eight after the league phase got rewarded with direct entry to the last 16 and having the second leg at their home ground.

It could come with the further incentive of the return games for their quarter-final and semi-final matches against lower-ranked teams also at home. This current rule only applies in the last 16.

The third and final point comes with the reintroduction of country protection. Currently clubs from the same league can’t face each other in the league phase.

So if Celtic and Rangers both entered the Champions League they would NOT play each other at that stage.

However, in the play-off round and round of 16, clubs could be paired with PSG facing Brest, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen going head to head and Real Madrid and Atletico battling it out.

It is reported that early matches are not attractive to supporters or broadcasters.

The old format protected clubs until the quarter-final stage onwards and this could come back into play.