Poll: Which is the Best Tie-breaker for Two Teams Level on Points?

By: Daryl | May 18th, 2009

Before we move on to the poll, check out the above bit of drama from Belgium’s First Division.

Top two teams Anderlecht and Standard Liege were level on points and level on games won (the first tie-breaker in Belgium) going into the final day of the season. So if Anderlecht and Standard both won their final games then we’d have ourselves a playoff to decide the title.

Anderlecht did the business with a 2-0 win over KRC Genk. Standard found things a little more tricky. They were 1-0 away to KAA Gent with the final whistle approaching, but man-mountain American defender Oguchi Onyewu fouled Gent’s Miloš Marić in the box to give away a late pen. If you’ve already watched the video, then you know what happens next.

Standard keeper Sinan Bolat saved Bryan Ruiz’ penalty, meaning there’ll now be a playoff for the Belgian title. Instead of sleepless nights for Oguchi Onyewu.

The playoff will be home and away, in Brussels on 21st May and in Liege on the 24th.

Should be exciting. I like the idea of a playoff to sort out situations like this. I also like the first Belgian tie-breaker, which is number of games won. It’s the same method used in the Russian Premier League (I think). The obvious downside is that the other team may have suffered fewer defeats (and picked up points through draws). It shouldn’t really matter how you get your points, so long as you get them.

Obviously the two other most popular methods (not used in Belgium, but used extensively elsewhere) are goal difference (England, Germany) and head to head points (Italy, Spain), which each have their pros and cons. Goal difference takes into account the whole season, but allows a situation where Team A beats Team B twice in the season, but can still finish lower on goal difference.

Head to head points solves that problem by focusing solely on games between those teams, and might seem the fairest way to split two teams who otherwise can’t be split. But you could also argue that a league table should reflect the whole season, rather than just two games.

List of which leagues use which tie-breakers can be found here.

Obviously no system is perfect. So here’s the poll question: Which of the following is the best tie-breaker for two teams level on points? If you answer “other” then please elaborate in the comments.