World Cup fans see more active play from stoppages directive

By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA says adding more time at the end of World Cup games to compensate for stoppages has raised the average active playing time to 59 minutes. FIFA head of refereeing Pierluigi Collina says he’s “quite happy (with) the result” of games routinely extending from the 90 minutes of regulation to more than 100 in total. The Italian former top referee says the ball’s now actively in play for 55 to 67 minutes. It was as little as 52 minutes for some games at the 2018 World Cup. Collina says fans like it because they’re “here to watch matches and be entertained”