Will a stopped clock end wasting time in football?

One concern about switching to two 30-minute halves is that the footprint of the match would theoretically not have a fixed endpoint.

But is this really the case?

We’ll use the average match time in the Premier League – 100 minutes and 46 seconds – as our basic point of comparison.

With the clock stopping for 60 minutes when the ball goes out and restarting when it returns, a match with an average time lost to corner kicks, goal kicks and throw-ins would last 98 minutes and 35 seconds.

Add the average time that free kicks take, and we won’t exceed 100 minutes and 46 seconds. So, based on these numbers, the impact of the game will not be much longer than it is now.

But this is the average game, of course. If we go back to the previous example of the Slavia Prague vs. Arsenal match, this would take more than two hours to complete.

Uncertainty about the duration of matches – especially those played in the evening – is not in the fans’ favour.

Likewise, we cannot predict how player behavior will change. In the absence of a direct benefit from wasting time, will we see such extremes as happened in the European confrontation in Prague? Or will it get worse, because a quick reboot won’t make a difference?

Perhaps the biggest problem fans have at matches – at least for now – is knowing how long a game has been played.

Many stadiums have only one stadium clock that cannot be seen from all the stands – and as you move to different sections, the view becomes smaller.

For now, fans at least have a rough idea of ​​how much time has elapsed in the match, and are getting stoppage time boards raised at 45 and 90 minutes. Without a visual match clock, it will be difficult to know how much time is left.

At the grassroots level in particular, this becomes a major issue.

Major League Soccer tried a version of this for the first few seasons from its launch in 1996 through 1999.

The clock started at 45:00 and counted down to zero, being paused when the referee deemed it necessary, such as a major stoppage due to injury.

However, unlike the 60 Minutes idea, this version did not take into account the ball being out of play during the overall course of the match.