Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves has revealed that referees have been told to add on the exact amount of time wasted as Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp slammed Aston Villa's time-wasting tactic.
The Portugal international revealed that officials are following the World Cup initiative that saw every moment the ball went out of play added at the end of each half. As a result, additional time was in excess of five minutes every time.
At Molineux, Yerry Mina scored in the ninth minute of added time to secure a point for Everton. On Merseyside, the Reds had 10 minutes stoppage time at the end of the second-half to find a winner against the Villans after Roberto Firmino equalised in the dying minutes of normal time.
PLAYER RATINGS: Roberto Firmino and one other get perfect score against Aston Villa
IAN DOYLE: What crying Roberto Firmino did at full-time after transforming the mood for Liverpool
PAUL GORST: FSG left with no choice after Champions League blow to ignite new Liverpool era
During the 1-1 draw at Anfield, it has been claimed that four players were cautioned for delaying of play with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez receiving a yellow card from John Brooks with 13 minutes remaining. Lucas Digne was the first of the Villa players to be booked in the 53rd minute before Ashley Young and Ezri Konsa were noted in the officials book for their time-wasting.
Speaking after their draw, the Wolves skipper said: "The only thing I can say is the nine minutes [of stoppage time]. I asked the ref why.
"He said they’ve been asked to play exact times. I don’t know why they haven’t been doing it all season. If you want to do it, you need to do it all season and not only in the last two games.
"We’ve had some games here where they [only] gave four or five minutes. They said we’re the Premier League, not the World Cup. Now they are trying to be the World Cup."
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was colourful in his dissection of the gamesmanship and described it as a 'football problem' that is happens too often.
"The time wasting was... wow," the 55-year-old said. "We saw against Sevilla the ball boys left the country, Roma against Leverkusen, how long was the ball in play? Ten minutes [added time] was fine, but we should have an extra five minutes within the 10.
"Everybody is doing it. We have seen in too many games this season, it has nothing to do with the result today, just a general football subject."
The Argentinian shot-stopper was booked on the 77th minute and Klopp reacted.: "It is really difficult, I think it is an important thing to talk about but I am afraid you’ll make it.
"I think the problem is obvious. You say it’s like smart and if you [time-waste] like that it’s fine but I think the whole season you saw it too often. It’s not always time-wasting it’s a rhythm-breaker as well. You’re in the last minute and you're is really going for it and then all of a sudden an opponent player goes down.
"I think today was obvious 10 minutes was OK, you just have the feeling that in these 10 minutes there could have been another five. That’s a bit of a problem. Again, it’s nothing to do with the result or the day or in our season. But it would be cool if we could talk about that as well."
READ NEXT
- Roberto Firmino left 'blown away' by what he spotted on the streets of Anfield before Liverpool match
- Jurgen Klopp reveals what referee told him about disallowed goal as Liverpool boss questions Tyrone Mings decision
- Why Cody Gakpo goal was ruled out by VAR for Liverpool vs Aston Villa
- Liverpool final fixture compared to Newcastle and Man United and how they can still qualify for Champions League
- Roberto Firmino on why he's leaving Liverpool, potential return and emotional message to fans
