BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Franz Beckenbauer says deadlocked matches should continue to be decided with penalty-kick shootouts.
Beckenbauer Beck, who is the former Bayern captain and the head of FIFA Task Force to improve football for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, says the shootouts “bring emotions into play and are a lot more attractive than the toss of a coin, for example.”
Beckenbauer’s comments were carried by German newspaper Bild on Saturday, a day after FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Beckenbauer’s panel of experts should find an alternative to shootouts.
Blatter told the FIFA Congress on Friday that soccer “loses its essence” when matches are settled by penalty kicks. He later clarified his view on Twitter, writing that he did not want to scrap shootouts but believed that matches should be decided “11 v 11.”
