There was a whopping 64 minutes' worth of added time during the opening four Qatar World Cup games due to new FIFA rules.
An average of eight minutes per half has been added because FIFA are trying to maximise playing time and reduce timewasting. The new initiative has been introduced by legendary official Pierluigi Collina, who is now chairman of the FIFA referees committee.
England's win against Iran lasted for more than two hours thanks to an astonishing 27 minutes of added time. That was due to a sickening head injury to Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand in the first half, and knocks to Harry Kane and Harry Maguire in the second.
The eight goals scored also added minutes to England's win, as did the 11 substitutions. Even so, the fourth official still left Three Lions fans surprised by indicating 10 minutes of added time at the end of the second half. The score-line was 6-1 at the point.
"We want to avoid matches at 42, 43, 44 minutes from effective time," insisted Collina, as quoted by France Info. "So the times of substitutions, penalties, celebrations, medical treatment or of course VAR, will have to be compensated."
Collina's bid to limit timewasting will please those fans who feel short-changed by a lack of action. For example, only 47 minutes and 40 seconds of actual football was played during a Premier League game between Burnley and West Brom in August 2017.
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FIFA's initiative means goals are being scored later than ever. Davy Klaassen's strike in the Netherlands' 2-0 win against Senegal was scored in the 99th minute, while Iran's Mehdi Taremi's penalty against England found the net in the 103rd minute.
Those two have become the latest goals scored at the World Cup finals since Opta's records began in 1966 (not including goals scored in extra-time, of course). World Cup referee Danny Makkelie warned there would be longer halves ahead of the tournament.
"You can expect longer halves, for sure," he said, as quoted by The Sun. "This is one of the topics we have spoken about. It will not be strange to see six, seven, eight minutes of extra time. We did this in Russia and everybody was positive."
Many fans will fondly remember Collina, 62, from his referring days. He is arguably the most famous referee of all time after being named the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History) World's Best Referee a record six times between 1998 and 2003.
Collina refereed in Serie A between 1991 and 2005, and he was a FIFA listed official between 1995 and 2006. The Italian mediated many famous games during his career, including the 1999 Champions League final, the 2002 World Cup final and the 2004 UEFA Cup final.
Collina even starred on the front cover of video game Pro Evolution Soccer 3, such was his popularity. He was also on the cover of Pro Evolution Soccer 4 alongside Thierry Henry and Francesco Totti. The Italian transcended refereeing during his on-field career.
