Former Arsenal co-owner David Dein is in talks with football’s governing bodies over the introduction of a ‘timekeeper’ and altering the length of halves.
Dein claims he has received the backing of PGMOL head Howard Webb for his controversial idea to change matches from 45-minute halves to 30-minute periods. While this would technically reduce the game to 60 minutes, the 81-year-old’s radical idea is to introduce a timekeeper who would stop play to avoid ‘wasted time’.
According to Dein, this would effectively increase the amount of football played during the course of the match as it would eradicate lost minutes for injuries, VAR checks and other stoppages. Wasted time was a big talking point last month after Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.
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The Gunners were accused of practising the ‘dark arts’ during the draw as several players stopped play to gain treatment for cramps. Under Dein’s proposal, this tactic would be rendered useless as the clock would stop while the player received treatment.
Discussing his idea on talkSPORT’s Sunday Edition, Dein explained the concept originated from Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson’s behaviour on the touchlines. “This is nothing new. This dates back, I think, to Fergie time, when Fergie would always be haranguing the fourth official and tapping his watch, wanting to know how much time was left,” he said.
“I’ve asked all the referees in the Premier League, several years ago, when the fourth official puts up two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, are you accurate to the last 10 seconds? The answer is no. No chance.
“Well, in this day and age, don’t forget America put a man on the moon in 1969. I think we should be able to know how long a game of football lasts.
“So my campaign is very simple. The average length of time a ball is in play in the Premier League and most Western European games is around about 55 to 57 minutes.
“I would like to see a real time, two halves of 30 minutes, where the ball is actually in play for 30 minutes each. Let the fans know how long they’ve got to go.
“Why should a fan at home have a better experience than the fan in the stadium? Let’s have a clock where we can all see how much time is being lost.
“I put it forward to IFAB (International Football Association Board) to have a look at it. All I know, what I want is always a trial. In fact, I’m talking to the Dutch league. They’re always the first. They’re very progressive.
“It won’t be a 60-minute game. It will be a 100-minute game. They’ll be in the stadium for 100 minutes.
“They’ll get value for money. They will get an extra 10 minutes of football.”
When asked who would police this new rule, Dein insisted that it should not be the referee. “Let them worry about the game itself. It’s got to be the fourth official or a timekeeper,” he continued.
“There’s enough money being spent in the game. It’s rather like boxing or basketball – a professional timekeeper.
“Howard Webb in particular, I’m glad to say, he’s supporting it. The next thing is for IFAB to allow it to have a trial somewhere so that we can see it.”
