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FIFA President Sepp Blatter is urging legendary German national team footballer Franz Beckenbauer to find an alternative to penalty shootouts.
Beckenbauer leads the expert group "Football Task Force 2014," which provides recommendations for potential rule changes.
"Football can become a tragedy when penalty shootouts are reached," said Blatter. "Football should not become a sport of one against one. The essence of this sport disappears in penalty shootouts."
And he added, "Perhaps Beckenbauer and his group can offer us a solution. Maybe not today, but in the future."
This season, penalty shootouts determined the winner of the Champions League, as well as the outcome of the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. In World Cup finals, penalty shootouts have occurred twice: in 1994 and 2006.
The rule for penalty shootouts was introduced in 1970. Before that, matches were often replayed, or the winner was determined by drawing lots. An example of this is the semi-final of the 1968 European Championship, where Italy celebrated victory over the Soviet Union thanks to a tossed coin.
