TIME wasting has been a massive problem in football for years, with players doing everything they can to waste a bit of time for their team should they be in the position they want to be in during the game.
The Premier League and EFL have taken action and launched a strict approach to cut down on time-wasting and increase ball-in-play time this season.
The average ball-in-play time last season in the top flight was a staggering 54 minutes.
This is the lowest average time in play for the Premier League since recording began in the 2012-13 season.
VAR and additional substitutions were key factors for the eye-opening ball-in-play time last season.
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How does injury time work in the Premier League in 2023/24?
The Premier League have added some different rules and guidelines, due to start this season.
Most importantly, the time-wasting clampdown, with officials becoming increasingly concerned about how little the ball is actually in play during games.
With these added rules, we will see more lengthy added time periods – very similar to the numbers at the 2022 World Cup where we saw up to 10 or more minutes added on most games.
It's also been announced that referees are allowed to punish players who try to complete impactful or effective ways of time wasting.
How is injury time calculated?
Injury time is calculated by the accumulation of every incident that has occurred which has halted or affected a match at any point, such as goals, substitutions, injuries, penalty kicks and red cards.
Every single detail will be calculated for a more reasonable game of football and one where fans will come away getting their money’s worth.
Has this style of injury time used in football before?
We first saw this new injury time rule back in 2022 at the World Cup in Qatar and now at the Women's World Cup that is currently taking place.
These changes have definitely caused a stir within the football world and players and managers have been quick to disagree with the footballing authorities.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about the new rule after his side conceded a late equaliser to Arsenal during their Community Shield clash at Wembley.
The Spaniard said: "We will have to get used to this. We were winning 1-0. I had a feeling that not much happened to extend eight minutes.
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"But it is a good question for the international board and all the people because they don’t consult with the managers, they don’t consult with the players.
"We have to accept it. We have to do it. Now the games will be 100 minutes, that’s for sure.
"They extend for goals. Every time you score a goal. (Imagine) a 4-3 and they put on 45 seconds for seven goals.
"Tomorrow morning at 8am we will still be here playing. Don’t ask me my opinion, please."
