The Premier League could see a massive uptake in added time at the end of each half from next season. This decision is one of the measures taken by football lawmakers to encourage leagues worldwide to tighten up the enforcement of stoppage time. We have seen how the FIFA World Cup went down, with more than 100-minute games being played regularly. How will this impact the Premier League once it’s introduced?
What are your thoughts on Premier League matches lasting for 100-minute? Do you think that it might curb the problem of time-wasting? We will try and answer some of questions related to the topic in this blog and what might be the end result. Make sure to check the LV BET Sports Blog for more insightful articles on your favourite sports.
Current Situation
At an average Premier League game this season, the ball has been in play for less than 56% of the match. That figure has been falling consistently over the past 10 years, with 2022/23 being the lowest on record. The football authorities have noted this decrease and are planning to act on it. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) noted the success of the men’s World Cup last November, and wants the same approach to be spread worldwide.
A shocking statistic shows the dire situation football is in at the moment:
The Scottish Premiership has the lowest percentage of in-play action with 52%, whilst the comparative highest percentage of in-play action is slightly shy 60%. So what is happening for the remainder of the time?
The culprit is not a particular team or the tactics employed to benefit their cause of winning the game, but it comes from the officials who aren’t enforcing the laws of the game. A good example from this season is the Crystal Palace v Leeds fixtures that was played last October, when the ball was in play for less than 44 minutes of an almost 101-minute match. In the first half of that game, a Palace goal triggered a VAR review lasting almost two minutes, and later a clash of heads led to a stoppage of five minutes and 45 seconds. Only five minutes were added on by the referee before half-time.
Three months later, nothing has changed. In Wolves vs Manchester United on New Year’s Eve, three second-half injury stoppages amounted to more than seven minutes, with another minute’s delay for a VAR check on a disallowed goal. Once again, five minutes were added.
It’s a controversial element of the game, but an element that the IFAB and the FA are progressively looking to squash. It’s all well and good when your side is in the lead, but when the it’s on the flip side, fans and managers are not happy.
Officials have tried some new approaches. Forty yellow cards have been handed out for time-wasting this season, a figure which is on course to reach a Premier League high by some margin, but it has made little difference.
Way Forward
In the annual general meeting of the IFAB, Gianni Infantino expressed his desire to reduce the discrepancy between match lengths in different leagues. Time wasting is the key factor, especially keepers taking their time in taking a goal-kick, or keeping the ball in their hands for more than six seconds allowed. VAR is also a factor as, in certain situations, judging an action within the game is complicated and a careful examination of the facts needs to be done and that usually takes time.
The semi-automated offside technology will drastically improve decision making whilst also reducing the amount of time players and fans unaware of what is happening. We can potentially be getting referees announcing the final VAR decision to the crowd, an improvement which was given the green light in January.
Another system introduced for the 2022/23 season was the multi-ball system. This system enables a number of ball personnel to have the ability to give out balls for a restart in the event of a corner, throw-in or goal-kick. The aim for the authorities is to eliminate the incentive for players to delay play, as at the moment, they are getting away with it. In a particular game, the match referee made no intervention despite the same goalkeeper holding onto the ball for more than 15 seconds on six separate occasions.
An official will be added on the pitch who will monitor time wasting and will advise on the number displayed on the electronic board. This comes after Premier League ambassador David Dein’s comments, stating that a referee doesn’t need or want to keep the time anymore, he’s more preoccupied with managing the game of football.
Will these measures have the desired effect on the game and reduce time wasting? Will we see an increase in in-play action from the coming season?