Why Was There So Much Stoppage Time?

Stoppage time is added at the end of each half to compensate for time lost during the half. The referee and fourth official track delays — goals, substitutions, VAR reviews, injuries, time-wasting, and any other stoppages — and add them all up. Since IFAB introduced stricter time-keeping guidelines, stoppage time is now longer and more accurate than it used to be.

Everything that adds stoppage time

Goals

Every goal triggers a celebration, the walk back to the centre circle, and the restart. That is typically 60–90 seconds per goal — and now all of it is counted and added back. A 4–3 match adds several minutes purely from celebration time.

Substitutions

Each substitution adds approximately thirty seconds — the walk off, the handover, the walk on. With five substitutions per team allowed in many competitions, ten subs in a match can mean five minutes of added time on their own.

VAR reviews

Every VAR check adds the time it takes. A quick offside check might add 30–60 seconds; a pitch-side review of a penalty or red card can take three or four minutes. All of it goes back into the match.

Injuries and treatment

If a player goes down and the physio comes onto the pitch, the clock keeps running but the time is tracked. Lengthy treatments — head injuries, suspected fractures — can add several minutes by themselves.

Time-wasting

Goalkeepers holding the ball, slow goal kicks, players walking to take throw-ins, dawdling subs heading off the pitch. The referee tracks deliberate delays and adds them back, often with extra. The eight-second rule for goalkeepers makes time-wasting from the back harder than it used to be.

See the goalkeeper eight-second rule.

Any other stoppage

Pitch invasions, objects thrown onto the field, equipment problems, drinks breaks in hot weather, floodlight failures, fans on the pitch — any unscheduled stop is tracked and added.

Why stoppage time has gotten longer

In the 2022 World Cup, FIFA referees were instructed to be much stricter about adding accurate time. The old standard of "three or four minutes by feel" was replaced by a directive to track every delay and add the real total back. IFAB endorsed the approach, and major leagues followed. The result: it is now common to see 7, 8, or even 12 minutes added at the end of a half — not because the game has more delays, but because the time that was always being lost is now being given back.

See the stoppage-time lesson.

Can the referee add more time during stoppage time?

Yes. The announced minimum is exactly that — a minimum. If a penalty is awarded in the 92nd minute, the referee waits for it to be taken (and any rebound or VAR review) and only then blows for full time. A goal in stoppage time triggers the celebration clock again. Late substitutions add their own time on top.

The whistle goes when the ball next goes out of play after the announced added time has elapsed — and only if no further delay is in progress. That is why a game with eight minutes of announced stoppage can still finish at 90+12.