A new poll of 1,500 UK adults found that 23% believe knockout penalties should be replaced in international competitions.
The poll, which was commissioned by Fair Betting Sites, also found that the majority were in favour of replacing knockout penalties with a golden goal format.
According to the poll, 29% of respondents said they are planning to place a bet on the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Almost 65% did not have a single betting app on their phone, whilst 0.3% had four or more installed.
- 23% of UK adults believe that knockout penalties should be replaced in international competitions.
- 31% preferred that knockout penalties are replaced with golden goal.
- 29% of UK adults will bet on this World Cup.
- 65% of those surveyed do not own a betting app on their mobile phone.
23% of UK adults believe that knockout penalties should be replaced in international competitions
Penalty shootouts are widely regarded as the fairest way to break football deadlocks whilst providing unbeatable drama on the world’s biggest stage.
The penalty shootout wasn’t adopted until 1970 and beforehand many knockout games were either decided with the flip of a coin or entirely replayed.
Many have argued that the coin toss prior to the shootout which decides what team gets the opportunity to take the first penalty or go second is flawed – assuming that being able to go first presents an advantage.
31% preferred that knockout penalties are replaced with golden goal
31% of UK adults prefer a golden goal format instead of a penalty shootout in a knockout tournament.
Rather than playing out 30 minutes of extra time prior to penalties, FIFA introduced the golden goal format in England’s FA Trophy in 1995.
Rulemakers argued that the introduction of this format would encourage teams to attack, with the intention of making the match a better spectacle for fans.
The first high profile golden goal occurred during the Euro 96 final as Germany beat the Czech Republic 2-1 thanks to Oliver Bierhoff’s 95th minute winner, crowning them champions of Europe.
However, the rule eventually backfired as teams became hesitant to take any risks in the fear of conceding a fatal goal to end tournament hopes and was scrapped in 2003.
22% preferred a replay of the match, compared to 13% favouring a free-kick shootout and 8% opting to support a 1996 MLS-style shootout which saw players given five seconds to beat the opposition goalkeeper from a starting point of 35 yards away.
29% of UK adults will bet on this World Cup
The FIFA World Cup begins in less than a month on Sunday 20th November as host nation Qatar take on Ecuador in the opening game of the tournament.
29 of UK adults surveyed said they are likely to place bets on the World Cup, with England entering as strong 7/1 contenders.
The other most popular responses were: unlikely (32%), no (38%) and somewhat likely (18%).
65% of those surveyed do not own a betting app on their mobile phone
The introduction of modern-era mobile phones has made betting more accessible than ever as trips to the local bookies are no longer necessary to have your say on a sporting event like the World Cup.
65% of the UK adults surveyed admitted they didn’t have a single betting app installed on their phone, despite the majority of major bookmakers having an app available to download on the App Store.
The second most popular response was two apps installed at 14%, whilst 7% said they had three installed.
