Ten minutes of additional time here, eight minutes of stoppage time there and matches that never end. As their boss Pierluigi Collina had announced before the tournament, the referees of this 2022 World Cup let the meetings go on well beyond the 90 minutes regulation, with players sometimes exhausted. Across the first six matches of the tournament, there are a total of over 90 minutes of extra time listed.
The most spectacular match in this register was England-Iran (6-2), which lasted in all more than 117 minutes, with in particular 14 minutes of stoppage time announced at the end of the first period. In this specific case, this is partly explained by the serious injury of Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand who had violently hit a partner while trying to deflect the trajectory of the ball.
“This time must be compensated”
But the other matches have also regularly exceeded 100 minutes, without having been marked by major medical incidents. The explanation is to be found in the words of the chairman of the FIFA referees committee Pierluigi Collina, who announced last Thursday that the referees would be “very attentive” to the actual playing time. “We want to avoid matches with 42, 43, 44 minutes of effective time. So substitution times, penalties, celebrations, medical treatment or of course VAR, will have to be compensated for,” he explained.
“Celebrations can sometimes last 90 seconds. This time must be compensated for,” added the former Italian referee, referring to “respect for spectators and television viewers”. If the intention is laudable, it also has its setbacks. At the end of the USA-Wales match on Monday, Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim announced nine minutes of added time. During this extra time, several players collapsed and had to be treated for cramps, which resulted in even more added time.
The second period thus lasted more than 55 minutes, without serious injury or the use of VAR and with only one goal scored. Several very late goals were also scored, such as that of the Iranian Mehdi Taremi, scored in the 103rd minute or that of the Dutchman Davy Klaassen, recorded in the 99th minute.
“There is too much wasted time in football”
“I think there were 24 minutes of added time in the game. That’s a lot of concentration time,” said England coach Gareth Southgate. “We just lost our concentration and when we play at a slower tempo, we’re not as effective at all,” he added.
For former Belgian coach Marc Wilmots, this extension of playing time can be harmful. “I saw the United States dive against Wales. We couldn’t find their team anymore. What amazes me are the cramps, the injury problems and the players who are already exhausted,” he said. he says into the RTBF microphone.
“The schedules have been tightened so playing seven matches over 28 days without talking about extra time which could be 140 minutes if it continues like this is untenable,” he added. Former England international Jamie Carragher appreciated it. “I like this time added by the World Cup referees. There is too much time wasted in football!” he tweeted.
Source: Europe1
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
