FIFA chief Arsene Wenger defends the crackdown on time-wasting

Former Arsenal boss and FIFA chief Arsene Wenger defends crackdown on time-wasting and dismisses fears extended stoppage time would physically affect players

  • Extended stoppage team and increase in bookings have sparked huge debate
  • Arsene Wenger insists new time-wasting rules will be better in the long run 

Arsene Wenger insists football’s new time-wasting rules will be better in the long run and bring game length down through conditioning player behaviour. 

Extended stoppage team and an increased number of bookings have sparked controversy, with UEFA last week revealing it will not follow the protocols.

Former Arsenal boss Wenger, now FIFA chief of global football development, says he could already see the positive effects at the men’s and women’s World Cups in Qatar and then in Australia and New Zealand. 

He also dismissed the idea it would physically affect players.

He told The Independent: ‘I would say are you against time-wasting? Personally I say yes. I am against time-wasting. For the equity of the game, we want the team who wants to play to be rewarded. 

Extended stoppage team and an increased number of bookings have sparked controversy 

Arsene Wenger insists football’s new time-wasting rules will be better in the long run

Zvonimir Boban, UEFA’s chief of football, said the changes over stoppage time are ‘absurd’

‘For the respect of the fan who sits in the stand, the teams to play, to encourage the teams not to waste time. After, it looks logical to me to fight against time-wasting. After that, the second question is how. Then you have to find the logic in it.

‘The logic should be for me to add the time wasted on purpose or accidental. Do you limit that time? Personally I am not in favour of limiting it, because once it’s the same thing as the offside, people say give them five inches or two inches and then people say why not three. Once there’s no logic behind it, it’s difficult to defend the decision. So we have to continue to do that.’


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