The proposal by FIFA and IFAB for extended injury time has drawn criticism from Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne (32) and Manchester United's Raphael Varane (30)."We will see how it goes, but it makes no sense whatsoever," De Bruyne warned.

Modern football is an extreme sport

Covering approximately 11 kilometres per match, three times per week, and up to 60 times in a season—this is the demanding routine for a professional footballer at the highest level.

This places intense strain on joints, muscles, and kneecaps. The densely packed match schedules also present a considerable mental challenge. Balancing personal time with family? The Club World Cup and League Cup competitions significantly impact that aspect.

Training sessions within numerous elite European clubs have shifted their focus. The emphasis is now primarily on recovery and visits to physiotherapists and masseurs.

Football is an inherently demanding sport. The playing field is expansive, and each match lasts 90 minutes.

However, the ball is frequently not in play due to factors like throw-ins, set pieces, referee discussions, VAR reviews, and time-wasting tactics from goalkeepers.

Within Europe's premier matches, only about 50 to 60 minutes of actual football action transpire. The remaining time serves as a crucial respite for these high-stress athletes.

Top professionals criticise harshlyFIFA and IFAB are, however, thorny about the difference between net and gross playing time. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, they tested so-called 'monster playing times' for the first time on the big stage.

One minute of injury time after the first half, three minutes after the second half. As long as nothing out of the ordinary happened, that's how it's been done all over the world in the past decades.

Six or seven minutes of injury time, though? The absolute measure.

President Gianni Infantino addresses the 73rd FIFA Congress at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana

In Qatar, however, they were suddenly the rule."We want to combat time-wasting. We want the fans to enjoy the game. (The new approach) is very much appreciated everywhere," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in March this year.

A very subjective perception - because neither the players' union FIFPro, nor top professionals like Raphael Varane or Kevin de Bruyne are convinced by the new approach, on the contrary.

After the Community Shield match between Arsenal and Manchester City, De Bruyne summed it up: "We have talked about it with the Arsenal players and even with the referees - they don't want to do it at all, but it is the new rule and that's the way it is.

"In a game like today, there were even three minutes of injury time in the first half. You can only imagine what happens when you play against a weaker team that has to stall all the time. Today we played 12 to 13 minutes longer. I can imagine games that last 20 to 25 minutes extra."

Kevin De Bruyne on the new rules for added time:

De Bryne

“Assuming we’re going to play about 15 minutes extra every game now, that says it all.

We spoke to the Arsenal players and even the referees. They don’t even want to do it, but it’s the new rule, and it is what it is.

You can only guess what’s going to happen if you play a lower team that keeps time-wasting all the time. I’m thinking if we play Sevilla on Wednesday and have 15 to 20 extra minutes, and then play on Saturday again (at home to Newcastle), it’s like two extra time.

We’ll see how it goes, but it doesn’t make any sense.”

More football - does that automatically mean more entertainment? Does this simple calculation add up? Not at all, as Varane assures us: "We managers and players have been talking for many years about our concerns that there are too many games, that the fixture list is overcrowded, and that the physical and psychological well-being of the players is in danger.

"Despite our earlier feedback, they have now recommended for next season: longer games, more intensity, and less emotion for the players to show."

Varane himself retired from the French national team at the age of 29 because the strain became too much for him. He likened the commute between club and national team to being in a "washing machine".

Time's running outFor FIFA, the spectacle is in the foreground. They are trying to market football more outside Europe and South America; the Arab region, China, and the US determine what happens on the global stock market. Holding tournaments there and moving the masses—well, that would guarantee FIFA large additional revenues.

But football is a strange sport. For example, it is a 'low-scoring game'. Goals are a relative rarity. And that is precisely why they move the masses. For a market that tends to want to produce and offer more and more, this is not a romantic quality, but a highly suspicious one.

Which is why there is also talk of adapting the offside rule, which would probably lead to more goals.

Sometimes virtually nothing happens on the pitch. Nevertheless, spectators are having the time of their lives. Football lives in the atmosphere in the stands, from missed opportunities, inexplicable mistakes, shattered dreams, and the glorious, rare moments when everything comes together—when a move or an individual action turns everything that had been seen up to that point on its head.

Undoubtedly, time-wasting is a significant concern. FIFA's announcement that extended periods of added time should lead to a learning curve is logical. The intention is for players to grasp that time-wasting is futile since the lost time will eventually be compensated for. In theory, this is a commendable concept.

However, FIFA fails to address the valid apprehensions expressed by players and their unions. Consequently, a valuable opportunity is being overlooked. There are no measures being taken to regulate the match calendar or curtail the frequency of matches. Instead, there are plans for an expanded 32-team Club World Cup scheduled for December.

Does the global governing body genuinely prioritise the appeal of the game? Shouldn't FIFA be focused on ensuring equitable financial prospects for clubs, supervising financial inflows from countries with problematic human rights records, and establishing equitable qualification pathways for international tournaments? If these developments are not curtailed, football's very essence may be profoundly disrupted.