Written by Dale Johnson. Des problèmes liés au football. Two thousand hours ago. 296 commentaires The contrast in injury time between Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final between West Ham United and Leeds, and Manchester City’s 2-0 victory over Liverpool the previous day was striking. While referee Craig Pawson added 11 minutes at the London Stadium, enabling the hosts to rally from 2-0 down during that span to force extra time and a penalty shootout, Michael Oliver added zero seconds at the Etihad Stadium. Social media buzzed with fans questioning how Oliver could disregard the game’s laws by playing no stoppage time—despite two goals and six substitution breaks in a match that Leeds ultimately won 4-2 on penalties. However, this is hardly uncommon in cup ties where the outcome is already decided. A few years back, Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s head of referees, discussed added time and scenarios where shortening it could be justified. The Italian raised a valid point. He stated that in cup ties where the outcome is already certain and unchangeable, ending the game early is acceptable. However, Collina emphasized that this should never happen in league matches, as goal difference can always prove vital. Zero added time is rare in England, but UEFA referees are instructed they may conclude a match precisely on time if continuing offers no benefit. Oliver is, naturally, a FIFA and UEFA referee. Check out a couple of Champions League matches from last month: Chelsea’s tie against Paris St-Germain and Barcelona vs. Newcastle, both with no added time, where the English teams lost on aggregate 963-2 and 8-3 respectively. Examining the stoppages in the West Ham game shows the 11 minutes was justified—three minutes for treatment to Adama Traore and Joe Rodon. Two minutes passed as the physios attended to Pablo and Jaka Bijol.
