Referees and Stadium Clocks

by Chris Allen

July 1997

Copyright (c) 1997

"The Laws of the Game says the ref keeps the time and controls the clock. If the stadium clock is his watch and he has direct control over it, I don't see any problem and I like seeing the time."

There are 3 problems with this:

1. We have not yet arrived at a level of technological or human competence to make this work smoothly and consistently.


2. More seriously, once a referee has stopped the clock for semi-consequential stoppage "A" in the 10th minute, it makes it much harder for the ref to stop it in the 35th minute for more consequential stoppage "B".


3. OK, several people on the list will now start to howl that a stoppage is a stoppage and we need to know precisely how much time is left. No We Don't! In gridball, basketball and hockey the ball/puck is either "in play" or "out of play" and everyone can see when this is. When it's in, the clock runs, when it isn't, the clock doesn't. Soccer is not a sport where this level of micro-mangement is possible. Here are several examples where it might or might not be feasible to stop the clock:

Among the most common are:

• after goal scored
• setting up a wall
• minor injury
• more than 10 seconds on a throw in
• setting up a corner kick
• arguing with the referee
• substitution

Do you stop the clock for some of these? All of these? Only in the last 5 minutes?

Who knows? And if we did, do we really need to codify this?

The solution to this is the word "Judgment", namely the referee's ability to take the entire half into account as it is being played and -- after 45 minutes of running time have been completed -- decide whether to add on time to compensate for various forms of time wasting.

If you take the position that some NAS list members do -- namely that referees are inherently and pathologically corrupt who, by definition, merit no respect -- then this explanation simply won't work.

If, however, you come to the conclusion that the timing of the game is inherently imprecise and is not subject to micro-management, then all we can do is trust that FIFA and the national federations are able to train and produce referees who are fair, impartial and competent.

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