Football fans watching the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar must have noted the lengthy amounts of extra stoppage time being added to the World Cup matches so far, find out why
Most football matches feature only two, three or four minutes of time added on at the end of each halves.
Why Are Match Officials Adding So Much Extra Stoppage Time During The Matches At The 2022 FIFA World Cup, Record Stoppage Times In The World Cup
"Don't be surprised if you see the fourth official raising the electronic board with a big number on it."
Refereeing legend, Pierluigi Collina, explains why there has been so much added time at this World Cup 🗣 pic.twitter.com/XSDFwAMmxk
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) November 22, 2022
Head of World Refereeing; Pierluigi Collina on why the added minutes have increased at the World Cup so far 🗣
“We want to avoid only 42, 43, 44 mins of effective game time, so the time taken by subs, penalties, celebrations, treatment or VAR will be compensated.”
Love this. 👏 pic.twitter.com/CDBjjoKt36
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) November 22, 2022
Although football fans rarely see eight, nine or even 10 minutes of stoppage time, surprisingly, lengthy amounts of added stoppage time has become something quite normal during the Qatar World Cup.
Why Are Match Officials Adding So Much Extra Stoppage Time At The Qatar World Cup
Pierluigi Collina, the legendary referee and current chairman of FIFA’s referees committee, already mentioned about the lengthy stoppage times.
Collina had previously told ESPN:
“We told everybody to not be surprised if they see the fourth official raising the electronic board with a big number on it, six, seven or eight minutes. If you want more active time, we need to be ready to see this kind of additional time given.”
Collina took the example of how a match where players score three goals. He shared how a goal celebration normally takes one or one and a half minutes, which would mean that with three goals scored, there is a loss of five or six minutes.
Collin adds that officials simply want to be more accurate in calculating the added time at each half’s end. He went on to mention that the fourth official would do that, while reminding about their success in Russia 2018.
However, he was clear on the VAR intervention, adding:
“I am not talking about VAR intervention, this is something which is different and calculated by the Video Assistant Referee in a very precise way.”
Time-wasting has always been a major issue in football, especially in recent years. Now, with the new stoppage time rules applied in Qatar, it will possibly ensure more minutes of the ball being actually played.
Extra Stoppage Time At Qatar 2022 World Cup So Far
So far, fans have seen unusual amounts of stoppage time at the Qatar 2022 World Cup. During the tournament opener between hosts Qatar and Ecuador match officials added a total of 10 minutes of injury time.
This was followed by a massive total of 29 minutes of added time during England’s 6-2 win over Iran. In the Senegal vs Netherlands match which ended 0-2 in favour of the Dutch, officials added an extra 14 minutes.
The more recent game between United States and Wales on Monday, which ended 1-1 featured 16 extra minutes.
Record Added Stoppage Times In A Single World Cup Game
Currently three matches from the Qatar World Cup have featured record single half stoppage times. Notably, they are also the most stoppage time on record in a single World Cup game since 1966. They are all listed below:
- England v Iran first half (14:08 minutes)
- England v Iran second half (13:08)
- USA v Wales second half (10:34)
- Senegal v Netherlands second half (10:03)
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