The loss of time isn’t fair either. Our research found that when
play was stopped, teams that were ahead in the score spent more time restarting
the game than teams that tied, and they in turn spent more time than teams that
were behind. An advantage meant more time wasting, and this was true for goalies
doing kickoffs, goalies kicking or throwing a captured ball, freekicks,
throw-ins, corner kicks, and substitutions. See the figure for some examples of
the time wasting (the vertical axis shows the time used).
To enforce free play, referees are supposed to prevent
time-wasting, but from our research findings it is clear that they can’t do
this. In fact, we analyzed the time-wasting and found that the teams were able
to follow a nearly optimal (for them) time-wasting strategy, which means that that
they are effectively sabotaging fair play, and they are also giving football
fans fewer minutes of watching their favorite game than the fans would like to
have.
What can be done? Football is special in many ways. It is
the oldest organized team play that is currently big business. It is the largest
sport worldwide. Larger revenue than any other, more professional players than
any other, probably also more amateur players than any other (they are hard to
count). And, it is the most important team sport that has a set game duration
and no stopping of the game clock when the play stops. Think about it: the American
Football, Ice Hockey, and Basketball stop the clock when the play stops; Baseball
and Cricket do not have a clock; only Football and Rugby have a game clock and
no clock stopping.
If the clock stops whenever play stops, it is impossible to take
advantage of game stoppages to waste time and turn a goal advantage early in the
game into a win. Most game stoppages would get shorter as a result. Goalie kicks
are 80 percent slower under current rules than they would be if the clock is
stopped. Goalie restarts are 24 percent slower, and freekicks are 36 percent
slower when teams try to waste time. Naturally, the total game time would need
to get shorter if the clock is stopped the play stops, but we can calculate how
much shorter it should be for the fans to get the same number of actual play minutes.
Football is an important game for all its fans, and in fact
the main irritation is when play is stopped, and the opposing team is leading and
is slow to start the play. How many football fans have booed players from the
opposing team who are suspiciously slow to get back up after a tackle, letting
seconds tick off the clock while the whole stadium is waiting? If the clock is
stopped, everyone would know that the pain is real, and the game is fair. It would
be a big change in a traditional game, but maybe it is worth it?
