What happens when two or more teams finish with the same number of points in the Indian Super League? This question, and a few others, have kept the schedule and match-ups for the ISL play-offs in limbo. (More Football News)
ISL Points Table Explained: What Happens When Multiple Teams Finish On Same Points?
Bengaluru FC, NorthEast United and Jamshedpur FC finished with the same number of points, 38, but for some time, the first two teams among these were unsure of who got the third spot
ISL league stage finished on Wednesday, March 12 with Mohun Bagan defending the Shield while FC Goa finishing second. Bengaluru FC, NorthEast United and Jamshedpur FC finished with the same number of points, 38, but for some time, the first two teams among these were unsure of who got the third spot.
The official site for the league currently shows Bengaluru FC as third but for some time they had NorthEast United at that position. Bengaluru FC also had to remove a post from social media where they announced that they had finished third.
Confusion reigned supreme and the tough-to-understand rules for such a scenario also added to the chaos.
ISL rules for tiebreakers
An ESPN report showed how the wording of the tiebreaker rule is open to interpretation and both NorthEast United and Bengaluru FC could claim the third spot and be right.
The rule says if two or more teams get tied on points, then the criterion will be: "Most number of points obtained in the League Matches between the Clubs concerned."
In the matches between the three concerned teams, Bengaluru and NorthEast won seven points each while Jamshedpur won three.
The next point of difference as per ISL's rules is the goal difference in the matches between the concerned teams. Now here is where the confusion arises.
If you take all the three teams concerned, then NorthEast United are the third best side with a better goal difference in the games between the three sides. However, if the second clause is only applied to teams that remained tied even after the first then Bengaluru FC get the third spot.
This confusion kept teams in limbo for a while but now ISL's official website has ranked Bengaluru third and NorthEast fourth.
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What other leagues do
Unlike ISL, UEFA keeps the criteria for tie-breakers really simple. As per UEFA, if two or more teams finish on same points then overall Goal Difference will be the tie-breaker. If that is same then, the number of goals is the differentiator and then away goals, number of wins, number of away wins come into the picture.
Goal Difference and number of goals are also the first two differentiators in Football Association tournaments like the Premier Leauge.
Why are ISL standings important?
The final standings in the league stage will decide the match-ups for the ISL Cup. The third-placed side will play the sixth-placed team while the fourth and fifth-placed sides will clash. The higher ranked sides will also host the lower ranked sides, making the standings important even to decide the venues.
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