Time for action

Last updated : 01 December 2002 By Kevin Smith
For that is the time played at Anfield this afternoon, as Manchester United made the 23 minutes following their second drag for as long as possible, with the ball in play for less than 15 of those.

Quite how referee Alan Wiley could decide to play four minutes of stoppage time amazes me, considering he is supposed to allow 30 seconds for each substitution and 30 seconds for each goal scored. That alone adds up to four and a half minutes.

Add to that the infuriating and blatantly obvious timewasting by the United players and the correct decision would have been to play a further 10 mintes at least, but when do you ever see that in a game of football.

Fabien Barthez should have been booked for his behaviour, going to the ground whenever he caught the ball (including backpasses!), and Gary Neville deserves an Oscar for his performance of My Left Foot, first grabbing Mr Wiley's shoulder then falling to the ground before being told to hobble to the touchline where he received a miraculous cure that enabled him to resume play immediately.

As football's governing body looks of ways to improve the game and eliminate the negative elements they must surely stamp out timewasting. Refusing to allow substitutions during injury time would be a start, and bookings for players who are blatantly timewasting should be the norm rather than the exception.

In the meantime I will write to Mr Riley and claim the £3 of my £28 ticket to which I was denied because of poor timekeeping today.