In the first two days of the World Cup, the timeouts given by the referees were something never seen before in major competitions. There was almost an hour of extra time in the first four games alone. But what are these fees, which seem excessive in the eyes of supporters?
Last Tuesday, former referee Pierluigi Collina explained that the aim is “to prevent matches from having 42, 43, 44, 45 minutes of usable time. It is unacceptable,” he said, quoted on the FIFA website. “Goal celebrations can take anywhere from a minute to a minute and a half, so if two or three goals are scored in a half, it’s easy to lose 3, 4, 5 minutes just celebrating. This needs to be considered and compensated. ” , he illustrated.
A few days ago Collina, head of the FIFA referees, together with directors Massimo Busacca and Johannes Holzmüller, made clear the guidelines for referees in this World Cup: no more violent matches, cheating referees and wasting time and anti-game.
These guidelines, combined with the example the Italian set this Tuesday, may be the reason the matches have more extra time – the first five reached 100 minutes or more.
Qatar-Ecuador: 10 minutes (5+5)
England v Iran: 24 minutes (14+10)
Senegal-Netherlands: 10 minutes (2+8)
United States-Wales: 13 minutes (4+9)
Argentina v Saudi Arabia: 21 minutes (7+14)
England-Iran, compared to Group B, still took 24 minutes. The fact is that it was interrupted for assisting the Iranian goalkeeper after a collision with a colleague. And that also with the hefty penalty in favor of the Iranians, already in the discounts, the VAR took a moment to analyze the offer. But still, these stops don’t justify all the discounted time given. That is, the referees really compensate for the loss of time and anti-game.
In April of this year, the Italian newspaper published Corriere dello Sport reported that FIFA was considering extending the actual playing time to promote the spectacle, with football matches now lasting around 100 minutes.
According to the publication, which even stated that the measure could be increased in this World Cup, President Gianni Infantino wanted to see more spectacle, arguing that “televisions pay for the 90 minutes, not just the 50 that are played”.
The five substitutions that each team is currently allowed to make will increase the delay in the process, resulting in a longer playing time in the game. Increasing the duration of the challenges would also help to compensate for this loss of time.
It should be noted that for this change to take effect, the IFAB (International Football Association Board), which controls the rules of world football, would have to approve the new rule. What did not happen. But it seems that the referees take anything that is a waste of time seriously and that matches last 100 minutes or more.
Source: DN
