One of the biggest changes in English football this season has been the increase in additional time at the end of matches. More games have already seen a huge number of minutes in stoppage time as officials clamp down on time wasting, with more time being added for goal celebrations and teams that are trying to run down the clock by taking longer when restarting the game.
With these changes being enforced by the Football Association across all levels, Betfair’s 90 minute payout has come at the perfect time.
Betfair’s 90 minute payout means winning bets on their ‘Match Odds 90’ market will be paid out in full at 90 minutes, regardless of the full time result. That’s right, no matter what happens after the 90 minutes is up, if your bet is a winner, you’ll be paid out meaning these incredibly dramatic goals will have no effect on your bet. Don’t worry, if your selection isn’t winning at 90 minutes, but scores an injury time winner, you’ll be paid out too!
The additional time has seen some games already in the Football League going into the 100th minute and above and the debate has roared on with Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher speaking about it on Monday Night Football. Unsurprisingly, the pair clashed with Neville saying that last season he barely saw teams time-wasting, whilst the former Liverpool player claimed there was a need for it.
“I think we'll get to the six, seven minutes added level. I watched 40-odd League Two games last season and there were hardly any times where I thought teams were set up to waste time,” said the Salford owner.
However, Jamie said that time-wasting is a thing in football but it’s up to the players and managers to stomp this out of the game.
“I think there's a problem in terms of time-wasting,” he remarked. “You can't add 10-15 minutes extra to the end of every game, but the players and managers who are complaining... just don't time waste!”
Whilst some players, managers and pundits are against it, the fans feel that the introduction of more added time is a good thing for football.
Some fans are suggesting that rather than adding minutes to the end of matches, they should just pause the clock when the ball goes out of play like referees do in rugby.
One fan argued and suggested that the previous system was just fine, but was being let down by the standard of refereeing. Another fan put the blame back on the players and suggested that if the players don’t want to be playing all this added time, they should simply not time-waste.
The increase in additional time has obviously had an effect on domestic football with more goals being scored after the 90th minute in the Football League. At this stage last year 13 goals had been scored in second half injury time, while this year there has already been 22.
With Betfair’s 90 minute payout on football singles and accumulators for all customers, you’ll never have to worry about a dramatic 90+ minute goal ruining your bet again.
Thomas Thorn