Why is there so much stoppage time being added on at the World Cup 2022? Pierluigi Collina confirms referees plan in Qatar

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has already delivered some incredible moments but also some not-so-memorable matches.

But there has been one thing that has been consistent in every clash so far - the vast amounts of stoppage time.

2

Why has there been so much stoppage time at the World Cup so far?

Before the tournament began, FIFA's chairman of the referees' committee, Pierluigi Collina, confirmed officials had been told to keep an eye on the clock.

Speaking at a pre-tournament press conference, he said:

"In Russia, we tried to be more accurate in compensating for time lost during games and that's why you saw six, seven or even eight minutes added on.

"Think about it: if you have three goals in a half, you'll probably lose four or five minutes in total to celebrations and the restart."

And it appears his words have been taken very seriously by every referee.

In four of the games so far, in either or both halves, the added time has exceeded ten minutes.

During England's game against Iran, both halves saw over ten minutes of stoppage time added on.

2

Most read in Football

Mikel Arteta confirms worrying potential Arsenal injury blow days before crunch PSG test

Ex-EFL manager clinches victory over PSG ahead of crucial Arsenal decider

'I regret it' - Chelsea gave Liverpool guard of honour but 'one title' dig caused chaos

Bradford steal promotion from EFL rivals with stunning stoppage-time winner

Of course, in some of these clashes, serious injuries have led to huge amounts of time being added on.

For example, Iran's goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was down for well over ten minutes during the Three Lions' 6-2 win.

But goals, VAR checks, substitutions and general time-wasting have all contributed to the increased time added on.

This has led to a lot of late goals, with Mehdi Taremi and Davy Klaassen both scoring in the dying embers of a match - Klaassen's goal against Senegal was the latest scored by a Dutchman in World Cup history.