Since the decision to hold the World Cup in Qatar and in a part of the year unique to date, it was clear that we are facing an unusual fight for the planetary throne, in many respects specific compared to before. The first impression was left by the events outside the pitch, and a series of numerous situations related to the audience caused controversy on the topic of playing the biggest football competition in the country without significant football culture and legacy.Soon, however, the focus was redirected to the field, but the green carpet also brought a reason to divide the public. In this case, the topic that did not leave anyone from the football world without reaction is the referee’s calculating stoppage time, given that 61 minutes were collectively compensated in the four games played so far.##EDITORS_CHOICE##The unusually long overtime was mostly caused by injuries, waiting for VAR decisions and a series of stoppages due to fatigue or players faking a hard tackle. After the premiere between Qatar and Ecuador, which was extended by five minutes in both halves, mainly due to disputed situations, in the matches that followed, the referees significantly boosted the average of added time. The most significant stoppage time was in the match between England and Iran, marked by the injury of goalkeeper Beiranvand, who after a collision with a teammate in the 9th minute could not continue the game, however, the marathon overtime was also seen in the second part of the game when the ten-minute stoppage time was followed by a penalty for Iran, which took another four minutes with it.##NAJAVA_MECA_6833942##”The injury suffered by the Iran goalkeeper was truly gruesome. I wondered how he was allowed to continue the game in the first place given that the medical team are now free to assess whether the player is fit to continue the game. With the aforementioned injury, there were interruptions in the matches due to VAR decisions, but also due to providing assistance to the players. There were especially a lot of interruptions in the match between the United States of America and Wales, there were many situations where the players complained of cramps on both sides. Whether the reason was the fact that they overworked themselves or they wanted to save time, remains an open question, but it is certain that the referees rightly set the compensations,” a credible source stated in an interview with Mozzart Sport.In the match between Senegal and the Netherlands, the total compensation was 10 minutes (two in the first half and eight in the second half), while 13 additional minutes (4+9) were played in the match between the USA and Wales. As the refereeing expert points out, changes are not the only segment that needs to be compensated, although it is also possible that time will be additionally “stolen”.”Perhaps the introduction of effective time like in other sports would be the best solution. The players would not feel deprived or manipulated, they would know exactly how much time is left. However, although I think football is ripe for it, it is difficult to implement such a system due to the resistance of conservatives”.Stoppage time at this World Cup pic.twitter.com/LqfPKaJims— John Muller (@johnspacemuller) November 21, 2022 The reason for slightly longer compensations than expected was the attitude of Pierluigi Collina, the president of the FIFA Referee Commission, who gave clear guidelines to the referees a few weeks ago.”Our priority is to protect the safety and health of the players. We don’t want one rival to put another in danger. We will be very strict with the cards. The goal is to stop those who try to cheat, those who simulate and look to get some benefit. It is something unacceptable and we will not allow it,” explained Collina on that occasion.When commenting on the referees in Qatar, our source drew a parallel between the Italian’s words and the referee’s performance on the first two days of the World Cup.”I didn’t get the impression that the players were protected. The Qatari referee at the USA-Wales game allowed somewhat rougher play, and often got into unnecessary polemics with the players. When it comes to the Brazilian referees who dispensed justice in the England-Iran and Senegal-Netherlands matches, they left a completely different impression. Unlike Klaus, who did not show himself in the best light, Sampaio left a very good impression in the duel between Senegal and the Netherlands. Even before the start of the championship, I pointed out that I have the most confidence in the Italian referees”.The only referee who can save us from so many minutes of stoppage time added during this year’s World Cup pic.twitter.com/62GZFd5TXM— Football Memes (@ogfootballmemes) November 21, 2022 The reason for polemics was quickly caused by VAR, whose flaws were pointed out by the former football referee on this occasion.”We have seen that VAR can be misused. In the match between England and Iran, a high-intensity offense at the beginning of the game was not the reason for the referee to award a penalty, but a much smaller one at the end was. I am sure that the result had an impact on the referee’s decision and that in a different situation, if the duel did not happen in the early stages of the game, with the score 0-0, he awarded a penalty for England as well”.
