Time wasting in soccer is an art, from players going down “injured” to goalkeepers fixing their gloves, or a substitution that takes minutes instead of seconds, the tactics used by some are dreadful for the flow of the game.
World referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina, was discussing time wasting and used the Premier League as an example where it is rampant. “The effective time at Aston Villa v Brentford was 43 minutes,” stated Collina, “I don’t think someone wants to pay to watch a match that lasts 43 minutes.”
It has been an obsession by FIFA to try and get games to be more fluid and with less “dead play” now the authorities are getting ready to inject rules where if a team waste time, matches will calculate properly the time used for substitutions, player injuries, penalties and red cards, VAR and goal celebrations instead of doing estimates which referees do now.
Actual match time of some leagues
Pierluigi Collina went on to give examples of just how much soccer is truly played in a 90-minute match around the world. Premier League matches have an effective time of 54.49 minutes, the Scottish Premier League is at 50.42 minutes. The UEFA Champions League clocks in at an effective time of 58.07 minutes.
Former referee Pierluigi Collina arrives on the Green Carpet ahead of The Best FIFA Football Awards at Royal Festival Hall on September 24, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
“We have seen implementing VAR has reduced simulation. How many cards are now given for simulation? Very little because the players know it is meaningless to try…
“I am convinced time wasting will be reduced when players know it is meaningless to waste time because that time is compensated”, Collina stated.
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