The chairman of FIFA’s refereeing committee, Pierluigi Collina, has explained the huge amounts of stoppage time being played at the Qatar World Cup. England’s match with Iran on Monday was a prime example of the new approach as the game ran almost half an hour longer than scheduled.
The added time revelation wasn’t immediately obvious in Qatar as the hosts took on Ecuador on Sunday. The latter notched a convincing 2-0 win with 10 minutes of total stoppage time over the two halves, leaving Qatar with a mountain to climb to reach the knockout stages on their own turf.
On Monday, a clash of heads involving Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand saw no less than 14 minutes of time added on in the first half. A flurry of goals and an apparent concussion for Harry Maguire saw 13 more in the second as fans started to grow confused.
A similar pattern ensued during the Netherlands’ clash with Senegal and the USA’s draw with Wales later in the day, and Collina has suggested that it is down to an effort towards more accurate timekeeping.
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It remains to be seen whether the lengthy matches become a factor in Qatar, given the warm conditions. Monday’s matches saw three stoppage-time goals, including one in the 103rd minute from Iran’s Mehdi Taremi.
Action continues on Tuesday with Argentina kicking off their tournament bid against Saudi Arabia. The Albiceleste haven’t lost a match since July 2019 and Lionel Messi will hope that run continues in what could be his last World Cup as a player.
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