Question One For the Referees Out There

[Norwichshrimper]

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Agreed about sin bins. Would like to see an official timekeeper, too, and play to end when the ball goes dead after time is up, rather than the farce of watching a keeper take a goal kick (for instance) just so the Ref can blow when the ball is in play.

Was tongue in cheek with my example, but a foul can result from an honest (and not reckless) attempt to win the ball, and contrast with the deliberate bringing down of a player to stop a breakaway - which is where, as you say, the punishment should reflect the effect the foul has on the game.

An independent time keeper works really well in US Sports...the clock automatically stops when the puck (or ball) is dead. Therefore theoretically if a fan pays for 60 minutes play, then they get 60 minutes play. If we tried that over here with football though we'd need a whole weekend to watch 90 minutes of "action" - you don't realise quite how much of the 90 minutes the ball isn't in play. I watched a game on Live Pause a few weeks back, Premiership or SPL game, can't remember which one....but I started 30 mins behind, but by fast forwarding the stoppages in play I'd caught up for the start of the second half - and there was still only the bog standard 2 minutes added on!

One thing that really bugs me, as some others have mentioned is when the board goes up saying 4 mins, then during the 4 extra mins there is a goal, 2 substitutions and 47 feigned injuries and then the ref still blows when the clock gets to 94 mins..it seems stoppages in stoppage time don't usually get added on....and in the rare case they do, some obnoxious twonk like Arsene Wenger complains about it