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5 new rules to know as Champions League knockout stage begins

The knockout round of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League begins on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, with some mouthwatering fixtures to be played.

5 new rules to know as Champions League knockout stage begins

Paris Saint-German will face Real Madrid in the first round of 16 game, with Sporting Lisbon also hosting Manchester City.

On Wednesday, FC Salzburg and Bayern Munich will lock horns, while Inter and Liverpool will also be involved in another heavyweight encounter.

The rest of the last 16 games will be played next week, as Europe’s flagship inter-club competition enters its businesses end.

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Before the knockout stage begins, though, are you aware that UEFA has introduced some new rules that will apply in all matches?

The away goals rule, for instance, has now been scrapped, while players who joined new clubs in the January transfer window are now eligible to play in the knockout round even if they featured in the group stages with their previous club.

Here are 5 new rules to know as the Champions League knockout stage begins:

1. UEFA has removed the away goals rule from the Champions League this season. If a tie is level at the end of the second leg, extra-time and penalties will take place as required, regardless of the number of away goals each team has scored.

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2. Managers are permitted to name up to 12 substitutes in their match squad and a maximum of five can be used during the 90 minutes at no more than three stoppages of play.

3. A sixth substitution and additional stoppage of play is available if a match goes to extra-time.

4. Players who have joined a new club before the knockout stages are eligible to feature regardless of any previous participation in a European competition this season.

5. Fans are required to present a vaccine passport or a similar document to show that they are not infected with Covid-19 (vaccine passport, negative PCR test result or certificate of previous infection).

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