Prolonging matches to tackle time-wasting is “changing the game we fell in love with”, the Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango has said.
Referees in competitions around the world have been instructed this season to more accurately measure time lost to stoppages such as substitutions, goal celebrations, VAR checks and injuries, after the approach was first adopted at last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
It has already led to 13 minutes of time being added to the second half of Sunday’s Community Shield between Manchester City and Arsenal, and has sparked criticism from City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United defender Raphael Varane who say the move, combined with an already congested calendar, is pushing players to breaking point.
PFA boss Molango says the focus should be on sanctioning individual players and teams who waste time, and told BBC Radio 5 Live: “This is not basketball, this is football. There’s probably a reason why the game was 90 minutes and not 60, and what we’re trying to do here is change the football that we all fell in love with. That’s not, in my opinion, what the fans want to see.
“We all agree we need to deal with time-wasting. Whether the solution is to add more minutes to the game, I’m not sure. I think there are other ways to deal with that. The referee has the power to sanction the people who waste time.
“If you look at the game on Sunday, these are two teams that do not waste time. There was no time-wasting whatsoever yet in the second half you end up with eight minutes added with two teams who do not waste time.
“So you’re thinking when you see teams who use a different type of tactics, how long will the game be?”
Molango says many players have echoed Varane’s concerns over the new approach and player workload generally when he has met with them over the summer.
He says football must wake up and address the problems with the calendar, which appear set to get worse with UEFA’s club competitions expanding in the 2024-25 season. That campaign will also end with FIFA’s new 32-team Club World Cup in the United States.
“This year’s Champions League final is a good example of how saturated the calendar is,” Molango added.
“Watching the game as a fan it’s sad to see Kevin De Bruyne not able to finish the first half or to hear after the game Rodri say that they had cramps after 60 minutes. That’s just not what you want to see. What you want to see is players being able to show their best version.
“Those type of situations need to be a wake-up call to say you’re just not heading in the right direction and we need to do something about that if we don’t want to kill the product.
“I’m using the word ‘product’ on purpose because even for those who just see this as a commercial venture, ultimately they are killing the product. Ultimately it will affect the game and viewership.”
It has been reported that broadcasters are in talks with the football authorities over the new approach to added time amid concerns it will affect scheduling.
Al Kholood 2-4 Al-Hilal: Koulibaly on target as champions move to summit
Al-Hilal withstood a late Al Kholood rally to move top of the Saudi Pro League following a 4-2 victory at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium.
The damage was done during a late first-half surge by the reigning champions, who leapfrogged Al-Ittihad to the summit of the table.
Al-Hilal broke the deadlock in the 38th minute through former Napoli and Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who finished after Renan Lodi initially struck the woodwork.
Malcom doubled the lead four minutes later, then Ali Al Bulayhi made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time.
Former Atletico Madrid and Nottingham Forest defender Lodi then got in the act to make it four within three minutes of the restart.
The hosts finished the contest the stronger of the two sides with Hammam Al Hammami and a William Troost-Ekong penalty halving the deficit, but that rally could not prevent the visitors from remaining perfect after their first five games.
Data Debrief: Al-Hilal remain perfect
Al-Hilal have won each of their opening five games in a Saudi Pro League season for the third time in their history, also achieving the feat in 2010-11 and 2018-19.
Jorge Jesus' side also continued their dominant record against newly promoted clubs, having now won each of their last nine such matches.
Despite their late surge, Al Kholood suffered their third defeat of the season, though there was individual cause for celebration, as former Al-Hilal player Mohammed Jahfali came on for his 200th Saudi Pro League appearance.
International record goalscorer Sinclair to retire after NWSL season
Christine Sinclair, the all-time record goalscorer in international football, will retire at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League in November.
Sinclair, 41, has 190 goals in 331 appearances for Canada, making her the top scorer across both men's and women's football.
She has played for the NWSL's Portland Thorns since 2013, helping them to win the inaugural title that year. She added further league crowns to her collection in 2017 and 2022.
The Canadian great has had similar success with her national team, winning a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She is also one of three players to score at five World Cups, alongside Brazil's Marta and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sinclair retired from international football in December 2023, and will now call time on her club career.
"Portland, thank you will never be enough. Soccer has been my passion since I was four years old and it has taken me on a journey I could never have imagined," Sinclair wrote on Instagram.
"As I finish out this last ride, I want to say what a privilege it has been to represent this unique, beautiful, and passionate city that I will always call home."
St. Louis City v Sporting Kansas City: This rivalry is important to MLS, says Hackworth
John Hackworth believes St. Louis City's derby with Sporting Kansas City is key to MLS as they resume their rivalry on Saturday.
The last two meetings between the sides have finished level, with both ending in dramatic fashion.
St. Louis City come into the latest edition having lost just one of their last six outings, though that was their last home match.
They sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, level on points with Sporting above them, and Hackworth is now keen to build on the momentum from their win over San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday.
"We talked about trying to finish these last five games with a lot of momentum, showing our fans what we were capable of," Hackworth said.
"We knew we had to go on the road in one of these three games and be successful, and now we just need to build on that.
"This rivalry is really important to our league. It's two teams who are going to go after it and play by their principles, leaving it all out there to see what happens - two dramatic draws set us up for this contest."
Meanwhile, Kansas City have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions and suffered a 3-1 defeat to Los Angeles FC in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday.
Head coach Peter Vermes was left disappointed by the result but believes there are positives to take from the performance.
"I give the guys a lot of credit. I'm very proud of the effort that the guys put into that game," Vermes said.
"It never feels good to lose. But I also think that the group did themselves proud in the way they performed. We had good responses in that game, but in the end, we fell short."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Cedric Teuchert
Cedric Teuchert scored in the fourth minute in each of St. Louis City's last two matches.
Teuchert is one of six players to score more than one goal in the opening four minutes of matches this season and the second to do so in consecutive matches (Mikael Uhre).
Sporting Kansas City – Tim Melia
Both goals Sporting Kansas City conceded in their loss to Minnesota United on Saturday came in the final 30 minutes.
Sporting have allowed 31 goals in the final 30 minutes of matches this season, only San Jose (33) has allowed more, and Tim Melia will be hoping his concentration levels can improve ahead of Saturday's match.
MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY WIN
St. Louis City have lost only two of their last 10 matches in all competitions (W4 D4), including picking up a 2-1 win at San Jose on Saturday. St. Louis have not won two straight matches in all competitions since wins over Minnesota United and Sporting Kansas City last September.
Sporting have lost 10 of their last 12 regular-season away matches, including a 2-0 loss in Seattle in their last league road match. Only league-worst San Jose (11) have lost more away matches this season than Sporting (10).
However, Kansas City are unbeaten in four straight meetings with St. Louis (W2 D2) after St. Louis won two of the first three encounters. This will be the eighth meeting between St. Louis and Kansas City, totaling 10.4 % (8/77) of all of St. Louis' games in all competitions up to this point.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 43.4%
Draw – 26.7%
Sporting Kansas City – 29.9%
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