A recent rule change in Australian football has brought attention to its status as an uncommon outlier among the world’s most popular competitions. This change may have a significant impact on determining which clubs ultimately win the A-Leagues premierships.
Starting this season, the A-Leagues will use total wins as the determining factor for rankings on both the men’s and women’s tables in cases where teams have the same number of points.
Many international competitions, such as the English Premier League and the initial rounds of Fifa World Cups, initially utilize goal difference to break a tie between teams with equal points.
The A-Leagues will now prioritize goal difference as the determining factor for teams that are tied in points and total wins.
The A-Leagues’ new approach to tiebreakers is being adopted by other leagues such as Serie A in Brazil and Major League Soccer in the US.
The modification of the rule was made known to the public on Monday through various posts on fans’ social media accounts. However, it seems that the A-League also updated their website with the new rules in the days leading up to the start of the men’s competition on October 20.
The A-Leagues website’s men’s table displayed Melbourne Victory as the top team on Monday. However, a later update on the same day resulted in a switch of positions, with Wellington Phoenix taking over the first place spot.
According to freelance journalist Joey Lynch, the league has made a significant change to how ladder positioning is determined. This change goes against the usual method used globally and was seemingly done without informing anyone or offering an explanation. Lynch shared this on X, previously known as Twitter, on Monday.
“We were unaware too. Unbelievable. Anyway, belated congrats to Wellington Phoenix – it appears you were top going into 2024!” the football commentator Simon Hill said in a reply on X.
The recent rule alteration has caused a stir in the A-League Men’s standings, with the Phoenix currently sitting at the top with 20 points earned from six victories and two ties. Their goal difference stands at +6.
Under the previous regulations, the Victory would have been ranked first with 20 points and a goal difference of +10 after 10 rounds. However, they currently have one less victory than the Phoenix.
The Victory have remained unbeaten this season, with five draws and five victories.
In football competitions globally, A-League teams are still awarded three points for a victory and one point for a tie, following the standard practice.
Sydney FC and Newcastle have swapped positions in the standings, with Sydney FC now in ninth place and Newcastle in 10th. This is despite the Jets having a better goal difference.
The A-League Women’s season began on October 14th, despite the A-League website still displaying information for the 2022-23 season.
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The APL issued a statement on Tuesday providing further details on the rationale behind the modification of the rule.
The APL statement stated that during the off-season, the ladder sorting rules were updated from a 5 step to an 11 step criteria in order to decrease the likelihood of clubs being tied at the conclusion of the regular season.
Each year, we review the regulations of the A-League to ensure that we provide the most exciting product on the field. We seek input from stakeholders and analyze other leagues with similar structures before reaching any decisions.
“Prior to the season’s commencement, clubs were informed of the revised criteria which places a higher significance on the total number of wins in order to promote a more aggressive style of play and elevate the significance of matches throughout the season.”
The APL received criticism for their agreement with the New South Wales government to hold the A-League finals in Sydney for three years, beginning with the 2022-23 season. The recent change in rules has come just one year after this deal was made.
Last season, both grand finals took place in Sydney. However, the decision has been reversed and the highest-ranked team will now host the grand final once again.
The A-League Men stands out by having a 26-round regular season where each of the 12 clubs play four teams three times and the other seven teams twice.
Similar to other leagues globally, the A-Leagues bestow a championship, referred to as the “premiership” in Australia, to the teams that conclude the regular season at the highest rank on the standings.
However, the highest level of men’s and women’s competitions in Australia both have a playoff system to determine the winner of the coveted “championship” title.
Source: theguardian.com
