UCC researchers find more stoppage time added in second half of World Cup and Euro games

World Cup and European Championships soccer referees consistently add on significantly more stoppage time in the second halves than the first halves of matches, according to University College Cork academics.

Robert Butler and David Butler, from the Department of Economics at UCC, studied data from matches and found that when scores were tight, referees tended to add on even more time in the second half, particularly at the World Cup.

The findings show that, in some cases, up to two minutes of unexplainable added time was found in the second half and that close contests were shortened in the first halves.

The research examined additional time at two major tournaments — the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar and 2024 Uefa European Championship.

The paper, published in the Journal of Sports Economics, was a collaboration by the UCC researchers and Carl Singleton at the University of Stirling. The project examined how timewasting is shaping modern football and potential rule changes.

The analysis compared how much stoppage time was added in the first and second halves of matches, allowing for stoppages, goals, player treatments, substitutions, VAR interventions, and other within-match events.

Overall, both the World Cup and Euro samples show that, on average, almost 200 seconds more are played in the second halves than in the first halves of matches.

The patterns captured by the research also found that social pressure and the stakes of the moment can influence referees.

The authors said: “Some might argue that it’s natural for referees to treat each half differently.

“[But] according to the laws of the game, the same standards apply.”

They said the discrepancies raise concerns about the effectiveness of time-wasting strategies in the sport.