10 Rule Changes That Should Be Made In Sport
4. Stop Clock For Injuries And Incidents In A Football Match
When has there ever been any controversy in rugby regarding the amount of time that is added on at the end of a match? The reason why is because of the clock being stopped for stoppages in play and it is something that football could learn from going forward.
It's deemed "part of the game" when the ball is taken to the corner or hoofed into the stands so the clock should be allowed to run in these instances but we are talking more specifically when injuries occur and goals are scored.
The rule could be applied for substitutions too. Referees are supposed to add an extra 30 seconds but whether they enforce that ruling as strongly as they should is open to debate.
We are probably only talking an extra few seconds if they don't but those extra few seconds can lead to another passage in play should the ball be in either final third. If the clock automatically stopped for 30 seconds upon each replacement, there would be less controversy regarding how much added-on time should be signalled.
The art of deliberately wasting time can be as comical as it can be frustrating but rather than referees having to dish out yellow cards, let's take it out of the equation and start to stop the clock.