Long stoppage time at the 2022 World Cup: referee chief Collina explains a new trick

Created: 11/23/2022, 13:09

By: Christoph Klaucke

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, injury time is unusually long.

FIFA chief referee Pierluigi Collina explains the new rule.

Doha – A game lasts 90 minutes.

This old football wisdom was finally refuted at the beginning of the 2022 World Cup.

In the first games in Qatar, the lush stoppage time is noticeable.

So the fans and teams of the 2022 World Cup can expect more football.

But why does the ball suddenly roll so long?

Long stoppage time at the World Cup: Play for over 100 minutes

The World Cup games last over 100 minutes instead of the usual 90 minutes.

There has been overtime in the past, but referees are particularly generous in Qatar.

The opening game between the hosts and Ecuador lasted just over 100 minutes.

England and Iran duel for a whopping 117 minutes and 16 seconds – there was almost 28 minutes of stoppage time.

However, the Iranian keeper Alireza Beiranvand had to be treated for a long time and was ultimately substituted for a head injury, and the VAR also intervened several times.

Senegal and the Netherlands still met 102 minutes and 49 seconds and the game between USA and Wales also lasted an impressive 104 minutes and 34 seconds.

At the World Cup in Qatar, the long stoppage time is noticeable.

© Simon Stacpoole/Imago

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In total, that's more than 64 minutes of stoppage time - in just four games.

Extrapolated, that would result in a total of more than eleven additional World Cup games (game schedule for the 2022 World Cup)

No wonder, given the long stoppage time, that the two latest goals in World Cup history were scored in Qatar.

Iran's Mehdi Taremi (90+13) goal was the latest regular-time World Cup goal measured since detailed data was recorded in 1966.

Ex-Bremer Davy Klaasen scored against Senegal after 98 minutes and 17 seconds.

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Long stoppage time at the 2022 World Cup: Collina explains a new trick

"We will calculate injury time very carefully and try to make up for the time lost due to incidents," said FIFA chief referee Pierluigi Collina before the World Cup.

"We don't want there to be only 42 or 43 minutes of active play in a half, that's not acceptable."

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The time lost through goal celebrations, substitutions, injuries or dismissals should always be replayed.

According to Collina, “seven, eight, nine minutes of stoppage time” are to be expected in a normal World Cup game in Qatar.

So far there have been significantly more, including Saudi Arabia's sensational victory over Argentina and Messi.

World Cup 2022: FIFA extends games using injury time

Even before the World Cup, there were rumors that football matches could soon last 100 minutes instead of 90.

Accordingly, FIFA wanted to change the rules and extend the playing time.

As it turned out, that didn't happen, but thanks to the generous injury time, the games still run longer.