Penalty shootouts began as a fairer resolution
Introduced to eliminate coin tosses and replays, penalty shootouts provided a more athletic and decisive way to settle tied football matches.
Penalty shootouts were adopted in football to replace arbitrary methods like coin tosses or costly, time-consuming replays for resolving tied knockout matches. The idea gained traction in the late 1960s, with German referee Karl Wald proposing a formal system in 1970.
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