Photo by Umberto Fistarol

So, Sepp Blatter has suggested that penalties are a ‘tragedy’ in football, saying that there should be an alternative to decide the outcome of a drawn cup match. Here are our top 10 ideas at Column10, including a few great shouts from Twitter, for what could make an interesting finish to a knock-out game thriller.

1. Football obstacle course – Soccer AM could have invented the answer to solving matches, maybe a crossbar challenge or ‘chip-the-ball in the bin’ – it would definitely prove which players have the real individual skill
2. Bring 2 more goal-nets onto the pitch. Each team now has 2 goals to attack and two goals to defend
3. A good old 5-a-side match like real world workers do after a long day in the office
4. In extra-time, reduce the team by one player every 2 minutes until a goal is scored or there is just 1 player left on each side to battle it out.
5. A dance off? The likes of Peter Crouch, Asamoah Gyan, Adebayor, Bas Savage might like this – we’re not sure what Roy Keane would have said in his day
6. Multi-ball, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20 balls thrown onto the pitch at once or over the course of extra time? Would hopefully keep Joey Barton interested long enough to not want to cause any mischief… maybe not
7. Play rock – paper – scissors – come on you know you want it!
8. Instead of penalties, have a best of 5 hockey style run from half-way line. The player, with ball at feet, goes one on one with the keeper, and the player has a maximum 15 seconds to score
9. Race! Each team selects their 5 fastest players who are then ‘drawn out of a hat’ to decide who races who from one end of the pitch to the other. Best of 5 – winner takes all
10. No full time whistle after 90 minutes is up. If level after 90 and injury time, next goal wins, even if it means playing overnight. Fans will be sure to get their moneys worth

Join in and suggest your most realistic or most wacky ideas for what could replace penalties by commenting below; and help Sepp Blatter, the mad hatter, make a decision which could change football forever.