Timing a game of football accurately

Were Pep's comments well-timed?

Pep Guardiola said this after Manchester City's Community Shield loss on Sunday:

"Now, every game we're going to play for 100 minutes. Wasting time, from my point of view, is not going to be solved by extending 10 more minutes"

This follows guidance from the FA about added time and how it should be more stringently applied by referees up and down the football pyramid this season.

During the World Cup in Qatar, playing time was up due to better enforcement of added time... but only by an average of 4 minutes compared to the Premier League average.

In-play time is the lowest it’s ever been in the 11 seasons since records began.?With ever-increasing ticket prices and a global TV audience, expectations among fans have escalated. In this case, time is money.

Pep's concern about player welfare is valid and must be considered as part of any discussion moving forward. This needs to be balanced with the needs of fans, TV schedulers and referees who have to administer new rules.

Added time also has an outsized impact on key match incidents (as Pep Guardiola found out in the 101st minute at Wembley!). In Qatar,12.6% of all goals were scored during added time. This puts added pressure on referees who must also run, perform and stay alert for longer, knowing that the game may still hinge on their decision-making deep into added time.

How can we find a balance for players, fans and referees?

The most obvious approach is adopted by Rugby - pausing the clock during stoppages. This doesn't necessarily solve Pep's problem, as the average Rugby game runs for 120 minutes including injuries and a half-time break. However, it does make it easier for the referee, as they simply stop their timer, and can easily be understood by fans.

Penalising time-wasting more effectively could help. Premier League Chief Richard Masters suggested this will happen this season: "It's not worth (players) time-wasting anymore because the time will be added on and you potentially get penalised to the detriment of your club. We’re going to see how it works."

How we're helping

We designed REFSIX to give referees the flexibility to time the game the way they want. Our users can have multiple timers on the same watch face - counting up, down or elapsed. Adding time is easy at the touch of a button, allowing you to accurately record how much time needs to be added on. The timer then counts this down after 45 minutes so you don't need to think about how much time is left.

We're continuing to lead the way with how games are timed, announcing a new project with the University of Kent looking at English football at various levels of the game. We hope to announce results after the summer, so follow us for more news.

What solutions do you think would help improve game time without making timing the game harder for referees?

Download REFSIX for free to start timing the game your way??https://bit.ly/3jWoBs7?

References:

https://www.thecoldwire.com/how-long-is-a-rugby-game/

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/youre-not-imagining-things-theres-way-more-stoppage-time-at-this-world-cup/

https://theanalyst.com/eu/2023/05/guide-to-premier-league-time-wasting/