A&H

Stoppage time

J79

Active Member
Are there instructions on stoppage time? Or what are your personal criteria?

You regulary hear that there are rules of thumb like adding 30 seconds for each goal or each substitution, but seems like those are not really generally applied (in a strict way).

Based upon what I see in games, this is kind of the feeling I get about how much time is added:


HALF TIME


Normal game:
1 minute

Really calm game:
None

FULL TIME

Normal game:
3 minutes

Really calm game:
2 minutes

Game with clear scoreline (ex. 5-0, "let's not needlessly prolonge the suffering of the losing team"):
(sometimes) 1 minute

Game with more-than-normal time lost (ex. long injury treatment, row between players, red card with player refusing to leave pitch, repeated clear time wasting by one of the teams):
4+ minutes
 
The Referee Store
Honestly it just comes down to judgement - if I'm doing a normal Sunday League game I'll rarely add time on. I was recently a NAR for a ref who added on 8 minutes of stoppage time because he added on extra seconds every time the ball went out of play. There's a balance to be found, but unless there are significant stoppages (time wasting, injuries, substitutions, goals etc.) I rarely add much on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: J79
Honestly it just comes down to judgement - if I'm doing a normal Sunday League game I'll rarely add time on. I was recently a NAR for a ref who added on 8 minutes of stoppage time because he added on extra seconds every time the ball went out of play. There's a balance to be found, but unless there are significant stoppages (time wasting, injuries, substitutions, goals etc.) I rarely add much on.

I was recently an AR at a game where the ref added 18 minutes of stoppage time even though there were no major incidents. he stopped his watch every time a player in the team that was leading by 1 goal, went down for an injury. that happened only about 9 times in th second half. if the other team had equalised in stoppage time we would have had a riot:D:D
 
I agree, with SF. Stoppages are those where I stop my count down atop watch......and I don't stop it very often..........
 
  • Like
Reactions: J79
When I first qualified I was generally adding far too much stoppage time.

Now, I'll add time on if the ball ends up in a bush or long distance away or if there is a significant stoppage for an injury or similar.

In a normal game I might add 1 or 2 minutes on. I've never considered how much time I would add on based on anything or than my watch.
 
For me, the Laws of the Game give perfectly adequate guidelines for this, as follows:
Allowance is made by the referee in each half for all time lost in that half through:
• substitutions
• assessment and/or removal of injured players
• wasting time
• disciplinary sanctions
• stoppages for drinks or other medical reasons permitted by competition rules
• any other cause, including any significant delay to a restart (e.g. goal celebrations)

So if time is lost for any of these reasons, make allowance for it - but it should be based on the actual amount of time lost in each case. When it comes to substitutions, there no justification in law that I can see, to think in terms of a fixed amount. If 30 seconds is lost due to a substitution, then by all means allow 30 seconds for it but if no time is lost or if two minutes is lost, then you should allow for 0 seconds or two minutes, respectively.

You certainly shouldn't pre-emptively decide on how much time to add based on some arbitrary criteria not related to the actual time involved.
 
  • Like
Reactions: J79
Had already heard 30 seconds-per-substitution "guideline" before, read the mention about 30 seconds-per-goal in this piece, where it's put forward by the "Professional Game Match Officials":

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/20159223 (this is from October 2012!)

Relevant excerpt:


"How do referees keep track of how long an injury takes?
There's two people, one of the assistants and the fourth official. As soon as the physio or trainer comes on, they will monitor how long they are on the pitch.

Does he stop his watch or just note what time the injury has happened?
He doesn't stop his watch, no. It's just a case of monitoring their watch; they never stop the watch.

Is 30 seconds added on for each substitution?
As a rule of thumb, yes. But if a player is doddering, meandering, then extra time can be added. And it's the same for red cards, yellow cards as well.

Is the clock stopped for goals?
No, it's not. But they do add time (to cover celebrations). It's around 30 seconds as a rule of thumb, unless they spend five minutes celebrating. Every situation is different, they'll take each one on its merit.

How do referees account for time-wasting?
That's discretionary. It has to depend on the situation."
 
Last edited:
So, every game is different then!! As you get more experienced you know what to allow...

You can always find a bit more too in certain special situations! Just to see if that team thats been pissing you off all game concede in the 97th minute...:cool: That inner karma is really sweet!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: J79
Had already heard 30 seconds-per-substitution "guideline" before, read the mention about 30 seconds-per-goal in this piece, where it's put forward by the "Professional Game Match Officials
I've also heard it before but I'd still say there's absolutely no justification for it to be found in the Laws.
 
  • Like
Reactions: J79
I've also heard it before but I'd still say there's absolutely no justification for it to be found in the Laws.
Didn't imply that, it's clear there are no indications as to actual time to be added (expressed in seconds or minutes) in the Laws. That's why I wondered if there are guidelines by the league or something. Apparently not.
 
Back
Top