A football match is supposed to last 90 minutes but it never ends up that way.
Unlike other sports where a countdown clock dictates the duration of play, the amount of time allowed for stoppages is decided upon by the officials, and it is only in the last couple of decades that fans were given any indication as to how many minutes would be added on.
Few official records exist for the longest time a game has been allowed to go on for, but here are some of the most notable matches that went well beyond 90 minutes.
Brentford v Wolves – January 2022
The record amount of injury time for any British game was the 28 minutes that was featured in a league Cup game between Burton and Bournemouth in September, 2019.
No Premier League game has got anywhere near that, but there were a whopping 19 additional minutes of a game last season between Brentford and Wolves, added to the end of the first half.
The first stoppage was for a lengthy injury delay after Brentford’s Rico Hemry and Matthias Jensen were forced off after a clash of heads, and then play was suspended as a drone had been seen flying over the top of the stadium.
Despite the hefty added time, neither team were able to score before the break, but Wolves went on to record a 2-1 victory with the full-time whistle finally blown at 5.28pm.
Watford v Norwich – January 2022
Just a week before the longest match, a 15-minute delay had been caused by a floodlight failure at Vicarage Road during a key relegation battle between Watford and Norwich.
The lights in each corner of the ground had dimmed and Mike Dean took the players off, although the referee was eventually persuaded to restart play.
Norwich were 1-0 up at the time and went on to record a 3-0 success.
Arsenal v West Ham – January 2013
The longest time allowed due to injuries rather than a freak occurrence was in Arsenal’s 5-1 victory over West Ham.
Hammers youngster Dan Potts was the unfortunate player as he received treatment for 12 minutes and eventually left the game on a stretcher.
The teams had been level at half-time but four goals in the space of ten minutes after the break tipped the game in the Gunners favour, with Olivier Giroud scoring twice.
Arsenal v Liverpool – April 2011
One of the most eventful games to involve a huge amount of injury time also occurred at the Emirates.
Liverpool defenders Jamie Carragher and Jon Flanagan were involved in a sickening clash of heads that led to 12 minutes of added time.
And all the drama was reserved for the extended period as Arsenal broke the deadlock in the 98th minute, after Jake Spearing brought down Cesc Fabregas in the box and Robin van Persie netted the resulting penalty.
However, Liverpool were able to get back on terms four minutes later with a spot-kick of their own. Emmanuel Eboue pushed over Lucas and dependable Dutchman Dirk Kuyt tied the game from 12 yards.
