When a team is a goal up we often see players, particularly goalkeepers, waste time in order to obtain an advantage for their team.
The rule still stands at a six second time limit from when the ball is in the keepers hands to the point when the ball has to be released before becoming a dead ball situation. You have to wonder why the referees do not punish the keepers more than they do.
American keeper Brad Guzan did this countless times in our home defeat to Aston Villa and countless times the referee pointed to his watch and did not punish the Villa stopper.
When I referee and I did this in a decent level game I refereed on Saturday, I point to the watch and tell the players that I am adding to added time. I stop the watch and the opposing team does not lose anytime. In an extreme case I would caution the player but I have to say that it can start a whole range of cautions all over the game which as a fan or a player you really do not want anyway.
I would instead give the goalkeeper a maximum of five seconds from the time he places the ball on the line or from when a player lines up a free kick to take the kick but have the interpretation of the rule much clearer. If the rule is broken in any way I award an indirect free kick from the penalty spot. A keeper would be far happier to take a caution than an indirect free kick from the spot.
I have to say that it cannot be just for teams who are ahead in a game but should be a normal part of the game from the first whistle.
While we often bemoan the time-wasting culprits, we rarely see it to quite this extent in the Premier League …
And if you have some time to waste then make sure you witness this example of a team doing it at every opportunity that is available to them.
While there are rules to prevent such from taking place, it is rarely administered in a game. We saw on Saturday with Everton goalkeeper Joel Robles that it took the frustration of the crowd to finally see a booking. In a day when winning is everything, ungentlemanly conduct is more and more evident which is a real shame.
