How long is extra time in football?

The added time in the sport is given for breaks due to injury, substitutions and other things.
Football games go for 90 minutes, with a 15-minute break in the middle for halftime. And during the games, added time is added when the clock hits 45 or 90 minutes.
However, it depends on how much time was lost due to substitutions, disciplinary actions (yellow and red cards), player injuries, disputes with the referee, and delays brought on by VAR checks.
The referee takes excessive goal celebrations and time-wasting strategies performed by teams into account before stoppage time is added as well.
When play is interrupted for one of these reasons, the referee or one of his assistants keeps track of the time lost and accumulates it at the end of regulation time, which is after 45 or 90 minutes.
Even though there is no guarantee that more time will be granted, occasionally 4 or 5 minutes are added. However, this can even go up to 10 minutes or more.
At the conclusion of each half, the fourth official raises an electronic board displaying the number of minutes added for stoppage time.
Along with other significant rules that are still in use today, extra time in football was first proposed in 1897.
Even if the 30-minute play became the norm, it was obvious that the system was still inefficient. After extra time, if the score remains tied, the game would be replayed. If there was still a tie, the match would be determined by a straightforward coin toss.
The last step first occurred when Italy defeated the Soviet Union in the 1968 European Championship semifinals thanks to the luck of a coin toss. Although the Italians unexpectedly went on to win the competition, it was obvious that a stronger and newer method was needed.
Additionally, because such minutes are not included in the regular minutes in football, additional time is also known as injury time and stoppage time.
Stoppage time and extra time differ from one another. When both sides are tied on goals, there are 30 minutes of extra time added in some competitions to determine a winner. If no goals are scored after that, the game continues to penalties, where the winner is decided.
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After earning a bachelor's degree in mass media, Rajarshi began his career as a sports writer in 2019, driven by his passion for sports journalism. He has been working in the field for over six years. A devoted fan of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, Rajarshi has been involved in sports since childhood. Before turning his focus to journalism, he even represented his college at the state level. Along with covering football, he enjoys playing the game, watching movies, and experimenting with new recipes in his spare time, as cooking is one of his favorite hobbies.
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