I don’t understand why we as a viewing public can’t see exactly when a game will end. It also doesn’t seem like the players are aware. I was watching the end of the Guana vs. Korean Republic match today and it seemed the game ended without notice. How is time kept and who decides when the game ends?
In: 0
The rules of soccer was developed before accurate clocks were common. You can time a match using a sun dial and still be within the expected precision of the rules. Notably you do not stop the clock during penalties and other dead ball scenarios. So clock is still ticking while players are getting some water and preparing for the penalty shot or whatever. In order to play a full match, or there abouts, the referee will add time to the end of the match. This is usually signaled towards the end of the match although might not always be picked up. Additionally the referee is not allowed to stop the match when there is very active play. Even if the match time is over they have to wait for a lull in the play to stop the match. This may be a problem as an attack may in some cases take a few minutes and even when a team loses a ball in their attack they may get it back again or the other team is able to quickly counterattack before the referee have time to stop the match.
Latest Answers