Referees are facing fresh calls to hand over the responsibility for time-keeping after Arsenal’s draw with Newcastle United, in which the ball was in play for four minutes less than the Premier League average this season.
David Dein, the former Arsenal vice-chairman who is an FA and Premier League ambassador, is pressing football’s law-makers to allow a trial to be held in a tournament where there is independent time-keeping as well as a countdown clock which can be seen by fans and is stopped every time there is a significant delay.
The ball-in-play time for Arsenal’s game against Newcastle was 51min 23sec, compared to the league average this season of 55min 18sec. There were two minutes of added time in the first half, and seven in the second although the fourth official only signalled for five.
Dein said that not enough added-on time had been allowed for in that match — especially compared to the World Cup in Qatar where the average ball-in-play time was 58 minutes.
Dein said that Premier League referees would welcome handing over the responsibility for time-keeping to allow them to focus on the match. He has made a presentation of his proposals for independent time-keeping called “Pure Time” to Fifa’s referees chiefs, and hopes the International FA Board (Ifab) will include the issue on its agenda when the annual meeting takes place in March.
Advertisement
“Last night’s match between Arsenal and Newcastle was another argument in favour of independent timekeeping or Pure Time,” Dein told The Times. “The time has come for transparency via a countdown clock so the public can actually see how much time is left. It should not be a national secret.
“My understanding is there is a clear consensus among Premier League referees that they would be quite happy for timekeeping not to be their responsibility to allow them to concentrate on the game.
“I’m not saying the clock should be stopped every time the ball goes out of play, but certainly for those incidents which cause the greatest delays: goal celebrations, substitutions, penalties, injuries and now VAR checks.
“All I am asking for is for Ifab to give the go-ahead for a trial such as the Fifa Junior World Cup, and then trialled in a major tournament.”
Dein has been campaigning for changes to time-keeping for the last ten years, but his idea of a countdown clock measuring 60 minutes of “pure” playing time has hit obstacles with the international players’ union Fifpro opposing it due to the increased burden on players.
Advertisement
Fifa is also wary of that move, given that football is recognised as a 90-minute match, but Dein would settle for a 90-minute countdown clock which took into account the main delays.
The Professional Games Match Officials Ltd, which runs elite referees, has indicated that it would be open to discussing initiatives to improve the game, including the time-keeping process and ways to further improve the ball in-play time, but not to change any approach midway through a season.
Dein said Fifa should be complimented on its decision to be more rigorous in adding on time for delays during the World Cup — although the Premier League is aiming to increase playing time it has no plans to follow Fifa’s example.
“The experience of the World Cup in Qatar, where we regularly had nine or ten minutes or even more added on in a half, was refreshing and shows that Fifa has seen the light,” Dein added. “It proves that something wasn’t right before.”
