Fifa president Sepp Blatter labels penalties 'a tragedy' and seeks alternative

FIFA president Sepp Blatter today labelled penalty shoot-outs "a tragedy" and challenged Franz Beckenbauer to come up with an alternative.

Two major tournaments last season were decided by shoot-outs - Chelsea's Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich and the African Nations Cup when Zambia beat Ivory Coast.

Beckenbauer, honorary president of Bayern Munich, is also head of the Football Task Force 2014 which has been charged with recommending rule changes and Blatter said the body should now look at penalty shoot-outs.

Blatter told the FIFA Congress in Budapest: "Football can be a tragedy when you go to penalty kicks. Football should not go to one to one, when it goes to penalty kicks football loses its essence.

"Perhaps Franz Beckenbauer with his football 2014 group can show us a solution perhaps not today but in the future."

Meanwhile, the decision on the introduction of goal-line technology is now expected to take place in Zurich in July rather than the day after the Euro 2012 final in Kiev.

The International FA Board had been due to meet in the Ukraine capital on July 2 but instead the meeting has been rescheduled for July 5 in Zurich due to logistical issues in organising the meeting so soon after the climax of the tournament.

Tests are being carried out on two goal-line systems including an experiment on the Hawkeye system at England v Belgium at Wembley next month.

PA