In 2022 the first winter World Cup stamped its influence on domestic European leagues. The likes of the Premier League had to go on shutdown because of the international event in Qatar.
Strangely, halfway through a season domestic football betting at some bookmakers went into some kind of hibernation. But the advent of the World Cup in December with all the UK football betting offers raised some further interesting points about time, beyond the calendar schedule.
Added Time Changes
In Qatar, the timekeeping by officials during fixtures raised an eyebrow or two. Suddenly eight, nine minutes and more were being flashed up on the Fourth Official’s board at the end of a half.
In England’s opening match against Iran, there were a total of 27 added minutes across the two halves. It was something that most fans were unprepared for.
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Why FIFA Changed
Pierluigi Collina, arguably the greatest referee ever, who is the head of FIFA referees, wanted to ensure that matches weren’t losing time at the 2022 World Cup. So the handling of time got a little more strict.
It often feels in Premier League matches like an arbitrary three to four minutes at most are put on the board. Five or six minutes generally signals outrage and frustration in the stands. Ten minutes or more, that’s unthinkable. But should the EPL be influenced by the World Cup?
Where Time Is Lost
Time-wasting is a big part of the modern game. Players take a tumble when an opponent’s pinky finger has brushed their back, just to waste a little time in defending a lead. Goalkeepers will take an age over putting the ball back into play.
Factors like that made the FIFA directive for the World Cup understandable. But time isn’t just lost in deliberate acts.
From the moment the ball is put in the back of the net to a match restarting, a good two or three minutes could have passed by. In a high-scoring game, that’s a lot of lost time. VAR has caused extra problems as well, forcing long breaks in games while decisions are made.
We all got to talk about this unreal Cristiano Ronaldo record 🥶#MUFC #RealMadrid #Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/o8aFmc4WAU
— FootTheBall FC (@FootTheBallFC) December 27, 2022
An Initial Big No
At the 2022 World Cup, matches were lasting almost five more minutes longer on average than Premier League matches. The first signs from the EPL was a rejection of the new time-keeping format.
Fifpro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann led the reluctance movement….
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