March 10, (THEWILL) – FIFA’s Head of Refereeing, Pierluigi Collina, has called on officials to add the appropriate amount of stoppage time at the end of games, regardless of the circumstances.
Collina referenced last Sunday’s match between Liverpool and Manchester United, where only three minutes were added, despite six goals being scored in the second half, along with 10 substitutions and a VAR delay. The World Cup in Qatar saw games extended by the added time that was meant to reflect the actual time lost during the 90 minutes, but this has not been a trend in club football.
Collina believes that adding on as much time as necessary would eventually eliminate time-wasting, similar to how the introduction of VAR appeared to reduce simulation in the game. He argued that “it’s time to compensate time that was not played during the match,” as effective time has sometimes been as low as 43 minutes in certain matches.
The veteran referee also holds that time-wasting will be reduced when players know it is meaningless to waste time because that time is compensated. While acknowledging that showing the correct amount of time when the score is 7-0 can be difficult, Collina believes that it is essential to ensure fair play. He added that “in some competitions, the goal difference in the entire competition may be decisive at the end for the ranking. So, even one goal scored or not scored could make the difference.”
Collina hopes that a future rule can be implemented that takes into account the scoreline when determining stoppage time, but he emphasises that such a change would have to be included in the laws of the game.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
