



Injury Time Is Not Accurateĭuring the World Cup back in 2018, the statistical analysis website FiveThirtyEight decided to take a look at the amount of stoppage time being added to games. That’s to say nothing of those who tell goalkeepers off for ninety minutes but don’t actually book them for the time wasting until there’s only a few minutes left to play. Many a football supporter has been frustrated when watching a match referee indicate to a goalkeeper that they know that they’re wasting time without seemingly adding that time back on to the game. Yes, there is a fine line between wasting time and just trying to get on with the game, but if a referee doesn’t pick players up on it then the clock keeps ticking down. The likes of Ben Foster are masters at wasting time over goal-kicks, moving the ball’s placement, pulling up their socks and so on.Įqually something like a throw-in isn’t on the list of things that a referee is supposed to add time onto a match for, meaning that players can happily waste time instead of getting the ball back into play if they want to. Yes, they say that the clock should be stopped for time wasting, but what is time wasting, exactly? A goal-kick isn’t included in the list of things that stoppage time is added for, yet it can take an age for one to be taken. Even the laws of the game are decided vague on the issues. The amount of time added onto a game can vary wildly from referee to referee, with the main in the middle being the sole arbiter of what constitutes time that should be added on. One thing that frustrates football fans immensely is the fact that time keeping in matches isn’t a perfect science. In their paper, ‘ Favouritism Under Pressure’, they show that referees ‘systematically favour home teams by shortening close games where the home team is ahead, and lengthening close games where the home team is behind’. Research into La Liga in Spain by Luis Garcicano, Ignacio Palacios and Canice Prendergast of the National Bureau of Economic Research showed that referees tend to favour the home side when it comes to stoppage time.

This, in turn, leaves them open to counter-attacks from the defending side, which is doubtless why so many goals are scored during the final few minutes of the match that the referee has added on. With the period added coming at the end of each half, and therefore the end of the match itself, it’s when teams needing a goal push to try and score it. Yet it is a crucial part of football, with the site Pinnacle suggesting that in 2014 as many as 11.3% of all goals scored came during stoppage time. It might seem like injury time is a bit of a silly addition to the end of a half of football, especially as very few referees actually seem to add on an amount that reflects true stoppages during the game. This includes occasions when the penalty has to be retaken for some reason. In the event that a penalty is given during stoppage time, the half is extended until the penalty is completed. It is important to note that this is the minimum added time a referee can decide to play more than the time indicated but not less than it. Other causes deemed relevant by the referee, such as a streaker or excessive goal celebrationsĪs each half of football approaches, the fourth official is tasked with displaying the minimum amount of time that the referee has told him will be added to the period. Any medical stoppages allowed by the rules, such as those for a drinks break.According to the Football Association, time is added on for all of the following: The first thing that we need to know is what a referee will take into account when adding time to the end of each half of football.
