Penalty shoot-outs 'a tragedy' - Blatter

FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, has 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 Africa Cup of Nations 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.”