The World Cup in Qatar registered, on its second day, the longest match of the World Cups, held since 1930, when Uruguay hosted and won the World Cup – the account does not include games with overtime.
In England 6 x 2 Iran, on Monday (21), at the Khalifa stadium, the Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, who was making his debut in a World Cup, added 27 minutes of added time, 14 in the first half and 13 in the second.
The extension of the game in Al Rayyan was due, in addition to the substitutions (five from England and six from Iran), to long stoppages due to injuries and a recommendation from FIFA (International Football Federation).
In the first half, in a bid in the Asian country’s area, goalkeeper Beiranvand violently collided with teammate Hosseini and collapsed. Disoriented and with a nosebleed, the number 1 needed assistance on the field that lasted eight minutes.
The match was restarted, but had to be interrupted again for Iran’s reserve goalkeeper, Hosseini, to enter, as Beiranvand did not present a condition to continue.
As the initial diagnosis was of suspected concussion (later confirmed), Iran, following the rule in force when there is this type of head trauma, did not have this replacement accounted for in its total of five.
In the second half, after England’s fourth goal, defender Maguire needed medical attention for a few minutes. Also with a suspected concussion, the number 6 left, giving way to Dier.
Another factor that contributed to the confrontation lasting almost two hours was a FIFA orientation. The entity that governs football asked the referees to add to the match time what was spent in goal celebrations.
“The celebrations can last a minute, a minute and a half,” Pierluigi Collina, chairman of FIFA’s refereeing committee, said in an interview in Qatar ahead of the start of the World Cup. “It’s easy to lose three, four or five minutes and that has to be made up for in the end.”
Fifa aims to have more time with the ball rolling in the matches, and, as the English and Iranians starred in an avalanche of goals, Claus had to add minutes to compensate for the athletes’ celebrations.
With the abundance of additions, three teams took advantage, in the first five games of the Qatari Cup, to score in extended time.
England scored in the 46th minute of the first half (Sterling), Iran scored in the 58th minute of the second half (Taremi, with a penalty), and Dutchman Klaassen celebrated in the 54th minute of the 2-0 victory against Senegal .
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