If, at the end of regular 90 minutes of the second leg, the aggregate score is level then the match goes into extra time where two 15-minute halves are played.
If the score remains level at the end of extra time, the tie is decided by a penalty shootout.
[2] The clubs that win the semi-finals then meet at Wembley Stadium, a neutral venue, for a one-off match referred to as the "play-off final".
[2] The match, along with the finals of the Championship and League One play-offs, usually takes place over the long weekend of the second bank holiday in May.
Less than three weeks later, 39 supporters died and more than 600 were injured in the Heysel Stadium disaster where Liverpool were playing Juventus in the European Cup final.
[6] Initially the Play-Offs would operate for two years, but if they proved popular with spectators they could become a permanent part of the calendar.
It was a ten-point plan which included a structural reorganisation of the league, reducing the top tier from 22 clubs to 20, and the introduction of play-offs to facilitate the change.
[10][11] The following season, Rotherham United also swapped places with Fourth Division opposition when they lost to Swansea City in the semi-finals who defeated Torquay in the final 5–4 on aggregate.
[14] From 1990, the format of the final changed to a single match played at a neutral venue, initially the original Wembley Stadium.
[17] The game was relocated to Manchester United's ground, Old Trafford, for a single season as a result of a scheduling clash with the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final.
[18] The most recent final, in 2020, was held behind closed doors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom: Northampton Town defeated Exeter City 4–0 in front of an official attendance of 0.