The silver goal was a method used in association football to decide the result of games in elimination matches which end in a draw after the end of regular time. A fifteen-minute extra time period is played, and if either team is leading at the conclusion of that period, that team wins the match. If the scores are level, another fifteen-minute period is played. If the scores are level after two periods of extra time, a penalty shootout decides the game. The silver goal rule was proposed to the IFAB in 2002 by UEFA to supplement the golden goal rule introduced in 1994. In extra time, a team leading after the first fifteen minute period would win; the game would no longer stop the instant a team scored as with the golden goal rule. This change was decided after golden goal victories led to some ugly behaviour from the losing teams. The golden goal was also seen as putting excessive pressure on the referee. While it was introduced with the intention of stimulating the offensive flair of the teams, this rarely happened as the danger of conceding a goal from an opposition counter attack made teams reluctant to take risks. The golden goal was not removed from the Laws of the Game, and as with the golden goal rule, the silver goal was not made compulsory. Competitions operating extra time were able to use the golden goal, the silver goal, or neither procedure during extra time. The first major trophy to utilise the silver goal was the 2003 UEFA Cup final between Porto and Celtic. However, the silver goal also failed to please the IFAB. In February 2004 it was decided that after Euro 2004 in Portugal, extra-time would return solely to the usual two 15-minute halves without any goal-scoring considerations, as they were before the 1996 European Championships. At Euro 2004, the semi-final match between Greece and the Czech Republic was decided by the silver goal, when Traianos Dellas scored for Greece after a corner kick in the last two seconds of the first period of extra time. This was also the last silver goal ever, as the tournament final between Greece and Portugal did not reach extra-time.
Trivia
Both the first golden goal and last silver goal in major tournaments were conceded by the Czech Republic. The first golden goal determined the UEFA Euro 1996 final, where the Czech Republic lost to Germany. The last silver goal sent the Czech Republic out of the UEFA Euro 2004 semi-final; it was scored in the 105th minute, the last minute of the first period of extra-time.
