Injury Time
Additional playing time added at the end of a period in football (soccer) to compensate for stoppages during normal time.
Definition
Injury time — officially 'additional time' and widely called 'stoppage time' — is the extra time the referee adds at the end of each half to make up for minutes lost to substitutions, injuries, goal celebrations, time-wasting, and video reviews. The fourth official typically signals a minimum number of added minutes, but the referee alone decides exactly when the half ends.
The concept exists because the football clock does not stop for most interruptions, unlike sports with a fully stopping game clock. Play continues into injury time until the ball next goes out of play or the referee judges the added period complete, which is why dramatic late goals are often called 'injury-time winners.'
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- 2026-09-01
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