Uefa and Fifa disagree on the increase in game additions – 09/06/2023 – O Mundo É uma Bola

The most attentive spectators of football games have already noticed that the additions given by the referees have increased a lot.

This began to happen in the 2022 World Cup, when, as determined by FIFA, the arbitration began to extend the time of matches.

The objective was to compensate for the lack of ball rolling not only due to stoppages for substitutions, injuries or “wax” but also for the time used in goal celebrations and for consultation with the VAR (video referee).

It is noticed that the additions in the first half, before a minute or two, rose to three or four (or more); in the second half, four or five minutes turned into seven, eight, nine (or more).

The game at the World Cup in Qatar between England and Iran became famous, refereed by the Brazilian Raphael Claus, who had 27 minutes in addition to the traditional 90 and became the longest in the history of the World Cups.

This recent scenario, to which everyone is getting used to, received criticism from UEFA, the entity that controls football in Europe, a day ago.

For former Croatian player Zvonimir Boban, 54, a manager and consultant at Uefa, the increase in stoppage time is “complete nonsense”, and the idea is that the referees of European competitions, including the famous Champions League, do not exaggerate in extension of matches.

Boban claims that the “well-being” of the players must come first and that the increase in extra time may cause some, according to the entity’s calculation, to play 500 minutes more per season, or the equivalent of more than five games, significantly amplifying physical wear.

According to him, who spoke before the draw for the 2023/2024 Champions League group stage, competition matches in the 2022/2023 season had more than 60 minutes, on average, of ball in play, over 54 minutes, on average, of the famous Premier League.

Boban’s statements reached Fifa, more specifically to the ears of the Italian Pierluigi Collina, 63, head of the refereeing department of the entity that commands world football. Who hit them.

“FIFA and the International Board [Ifab, órgão que regulamenta as regras do futebol] were asked to deal with the matter [tempo de bola rolando] and some solutions have been proposed, including the ‘stop the timer’ system,” he said in a statement.

“Following a consultation process involving representatives of all confederations, including UEFA, the Ifab recommended that referees calculate the additional time more accurately, applying the criteria set out in the Laws of the Game.”

According to Collina, the increase in the additions was well received by athletes and the public: “The reaction we had at the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Women’s World Cup, both by the teams and the spectators, was positive. Forum Research of the World Leagues [organização que representa ligas de futebol] showed that 90% of the members agreed with the criteria that began to be applied”.

“I understand that any reforms to the Laws of the Game may be viewed with skepticism by some, but, as was the case with the introduction of VAR, when the measures are in the defense of football, they end up being accepted,” concluded Collina, who whistled the decision of the 2002 World Cup between Brazil and Germany, in Japan.

Collina’s arguments, however, did not deter Fifpro (the world’s union of professional players), which took a stand in favor of Boban, with the aim of preventing footballers from playing longer than desired and preventing possible injuries.

There is, however, an unremembered issue that makes the speech of the Uefa representative and the attitude of Fifpro absurd.

The entity decided to expand the Champions League from next year, expanding the group stage from 32 to 36 clubs, with a new format that will make each team play twice as much in this stage.

For those who want to spare the players physically, this decision goes against the grain of the discourse, seeming hypocrisy to propagate that the expanded additions may be the only culprits for the reduction in the well-being of the athletes.

In practice, without theorizing or resorting to evasions, the increase in minutes played will be defended by the team (and by the fans of that team, either in the stadium or outside) that is losing, as there will be more time to seek the tie, and condemned by the team (and the fans of that team) who is winning and who wants the game to be over soon.

For the football lover who only watches the game for pleasure, without interest in the victory of one of the teams, more minutes will be welcome if the duel is attractive; otherwise, they will be disliked. That simple.