An average fan may find a soccer game to be long. Soccer has the longest running time of any major sport with a clock. This World Cup extra stoppage time has been rampant. A soccer match has two forty-five-minute halves. Next, the fourth official keeps a running clock of all action during the game. At the end of each half, there is what is termed stoppage time. Stoppage time is any time after each half ends. It is from any time when the ball was out of play, referee stoppages for an injury, discipline a team, any time spent celebrating after a goal, delays for video replay, and any other delay tactics employed by teams to try and shorten the game.
This year at the World Cup there has been an added focus on stoppage time. Fifa told us to expect matches to last longer at this World Cup. Extra added time would be calculated. Their goal was to track every possible second being wasted or lost. added in at the end of the game. This might have been expected to be three to five minutes, maybe even eight. Over half of the games played so far have had over ten minutes of extra time.
Check the Board
A soccer match has a minimum of one minute of extra time required. At the end of each half, the fourth official holds up a board with the minimum stoppage time. The referee can also extend stoppage time at their discretion. As long there is an active advantage being played by the team with the ball until it is lost or a goal-scoring chance is no longer being sought play could continue.
The first game of the world cup had over nine minutes of combined stoppage time. Some people may have thought that was already too long but it was just the start. England and Iran played almost thirty minutes of extra time and multiple goals were scored after the 90th minute. Iran even scored a penalty after the hundredth minute. Iran was even able to repeat this trick deep in the extra time against Wales scoring in the 98th and 101st minute to seal a win.
FIFA Options
Fifa has explored many options over the years to find ways to shorten the game and reduce time wasting. Extra stoppage time makes the game longer but could incentive change by the players. The biggest culprits are goalkeepers and players embellishing injuries. There have been talks of increasing penalties like giving out cards for extended time-wasting. Players try to do little things to waste time. They do things like kicking the ball away during a throw-in or holding the ball until the offending defense is set. Then they give it back might. This seems innocent but add up throughout an entire match. Finally, there have even been talks of the extreme measure of a shortened game and a stop-start clock. This would be met with the most critical but would probably be the most successful option.
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