Klopp: BT REDUCED 'ADDED TIME' FOR BROADCASTING PURPOSES

Klopp: BT REDUCED 'ADDED TIME' FOR BROADCASTING PURPOSE


Jürgen Klopp has accused BT Sport of forcing the team of officials that handled Liverpool’s FA Cup defeat by West Bromwich Albion last weekend to cut short the length of injury time by six minutes, but is unlikely to face any action over his comments


Tuesday 30th Jan 2018


By Jack de Menezes

The Football Association claim incident is not a matter for them despite the Liverpool manager claming that officials during the 3-2 defeat by West Brom were influenced by TV broadcasters


The Liverpool manager claimed that the television broadcaster of last Saturday night’s encounter cut the length of time added on in the first half at the Hawthorns from 10 minutes to just four minutes.

A lengthy Video Assistant Referee [VAR] referral meant that play was halted for long periods in the first half, with referee Craig Pawson ruling out a Craig Dawson goal after the VAR informed him that Gareth Barry was standing in front of Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet in an offside position, before the Reds were awarded a penalty via VAR when Jake Livermore was deemed to have fouled Mohamed Salah just minutes later.

The stoppage lasted for four minutes and 46 seconds as Pawson consulted the television screen next to the players’ tunnel, but that was not the only stoppage during the match. Injuries to both Hal Robson-Kanu and Kieran Gibbs forced West Brom manager Alan Pardew into two early substitutions that used up more than three-and-a-half minutes, while the three first-half goals totalled one minute 30 seconds as each celebration is allocated half-a-minute in time added on.

In total, Pawson should have been told to add on 10 minutes to the first half, but it’s been confirmed that the VAR – who is responsible for time added on when in use – informed fourth official Jon Moss to add on just four minutes.


Klopp was far from please with the outcome, and while he did not claim it cost them a result in the 3-2 defeat, he alleged that BT Sport had been behind the decision.

“What I heard was that the actual extra time in the first half should have been 10 minutes,” Klopp said. “It was only four minutes. I heard that television said it’s not longer than four minutes.

“Of course that’s not possible, you can’t cut match time because there is something else to broadcast.

“I don’t know what was afterwards, maybe the news or something. It was 10 minutes and so you need to play 10 minutes longer. You cannot say it’s now a little bit too long.”


Klopp’s comments came after the Liverpool manager criticised his side’s defending, with the German admitting that allowing West Brom to score three times – and have another ruled out – is unacceptable.

But he also felt the need to question what happened to the rest of the time lost in the first half, given that the reason that he had been told was also not acceptable if it was due to TV restrictions.


"If it is 10 minutes, play 10 minutes,” Klopp added. “That is the situation, what can I say? We are used to accepting difficult things. You think that’s right or wrong, you say it and nobody listens.

“You step back because you don’t want to be a bad loser or whatever. But that was the situation. I would not have spoken about it but that was the case.”

BT Sport have denied having any influence on the matter, with the live broadcast last Saturday being followed by highlights of the FA Cup clash between Wigan vs West Ham and the Bundesliga.

The Football Association has also declined to comment and claim that it is a matter for the Professional Game Match Officials Limited [PGMOL], meaning that Klopp will not face action despite appearing to question the integrity of the officials involved on the day.

A PGMOL spokesperson confirmed that, as VAR was in use for the FA Cup clash, it was their responsibility to keep track of time lost during play and inform the fourth official of the correct length of injury time, and stressed that BT Sport nor any other broadcasters had any say in the matter.

“The VAR (video assistant referee) will advise the fourth official on the number of minutes to be included as added time for each half in respect of any time lost through VAR,” the spokesman said. “Broadcasters are not involved in this process.”

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utter, utter nonsense

Quote (Paul_h): "utter, utter nonsense"

You know that as a FACT?!

I sincerely hope not but it seems the evidence is there that time was reduced at the end of the first half

My own thought is that it would be odd to pre-empt a 'broadcast timing' issue so early into the game rather than at the end of the second half, but if what Klopp says were to be the case and BT 'needed' the reduction, then it has massive repercussions for the integrity of the game of football as a whole...and not positive ones!

I'd be absolutely livid as a manager if I had injury time reduced when losing the match, this VAR nonsense is really pointless.

This is not a good advert for VAR I hate it personally, refs get abuse off me on here but its part of the game but VAR should only be used for Penaltys and goal line tech otherwise thats it.

All you need is a 4th official to look at it quickly and thats it not 3 or 5 minutes to make a decision the officials in my view
on the Liverpool game against westbrom have shown what crap VAR is

Lucky for him if the alleged full 10 mins had been played they would have been 5-1 down instead of just 3-1. Think he is getting as bad as Mourinho, Ferguson and all the others who blame everyone else except themselves when they can't defend. NOW I am in trouble with all the South Wales Liverpool fans, I might be run out of town. Smart Alecs!

Time is supposed to be added on for var! Work it out 2 injuries in 1st half had required substitution's that took easily 4 mins if not longer at least to sort out, var on pen was timed at 3.5 mins and goal was 1.5 mins using var According to pundits on TV ref played 4mins extra 1st half they are facts so someone's time keeping is a bit out?

Lucky for him if the alleged full 10 mins had been played they would have been 5-1 down instead of just 3-1. Think he is getting as bad as Mourinho, Ferguson and all the others who blame everyone else except themselves when they can't defend. NOW I am in trouble with all the South Wales Liverpool fans, I might be run out of town. Smart Alecs!

Goalkeepers take longer cumulatively to take a goal kick when their team are winning than any VAR decision but bugger all is being done about it these days. Anyone would think players are at full pelt for 90 mins and never time waste. The minute there is a stoppage for a VAR decision its all about it slowing the game down its a joke and those who think it slows the game down are delusional.
Interestingly in Italy the overall game is sped up by the use of VAR even if its not called on to be used as there are less fouls, less bookings less arguing with the ref,less diving and less time wasting something not mentioned on the positive effect of VAR.

Time is supposed to be added on for var! Work it out 2 injuries in 1st half had required substitution's that took easily 4 mins if not longer at least to sort out, var on pen was timed at 3.5 mins and goal was 1.5 mins using var According to pundits on TV ref played 4mins extra 1st half they are facts so someone's time keeping is a bit out?

yeah pretty shocking


but the idea that the TV company get a message to the ref, to tell the fourth official to limit the amount of time is not just unlikely its bizarre

Time is supposed to be added on for var! Work it out 2 injuries in 1st half had required substitution's that took easily 4 mins if not longer at least to sort out, var on pen was timed at 3.5 mins and goal was 1.5 mins using var According to pundits on TV ref played 4mins extra 1st half they are facts so someone's time keeping is a bit out?

yeah pretty shocking


but the idea that the TV company get a message to the ref, to tell the fourth official to limit the amount of time is not just unlikely its bizarre

It is but guess ref forgot to add on var time as that's only explenation but even then what about 4th official? 9 mins would not have been far out for extra time and what about other bits of time for other injuries? Think ref owes an explenation of how he got 4 mins when clearly there was a lot more? Maybe didn't want show how crapp he was at using var!

Time is supposed to be added on for var! Work it out 2 injuries in 1st half had required substitution's that took easily 4 mins if not longer at least to sort out, var on pen was timed at 3.5 mins and goal was 1.5 mins using var According to pundits on TV ref played 4mins extra 1st half they are facts so someone's time keeping is a bit out?

yeah pretty shocking


but the idea that the TV company get a message to the ref, to tell the fourth official to limit the amount of time is not just unlikely its bizarre

It is but guess ref forgot to add on var time as that's only explenation but even then what about 4th official? 9 mins would not have been far out for extra time and what about other bits of time for other injuries? Think ref owes an explenation of how he got 4 mins when clearly there was a lot more? Maybe didn't want show how crapp he was at using var!

yep, terrible, perhaps he just forgot about the VAR mess or only included that time i dunno but its a weird one.

for VAR they should just stop the clock, and do normal injury time for anything else.

rugby running over because of stoppages and video refs has never been problem for TV can't see why it'd be any different here.

rugby running over because of stoppages and video refs has never been problem for TV can't see why it'd be any different here.

do tv tell the refs to blow up early in rugby?

rugby running over because of stoppages and video refs has never been problem for TV can't see why it'd be any different here.

do tv tell the refs to blow up early in rugby?

No remember the wales France game ran over 20 minutes.

rugby running over because of stoppages and video refs has never been problem for TV can't see why it'd be any different here.

do tv tell the refs to blow up early in rugby?

Always thought game runs until 40 or 80mins then it is stopped when the ball is next given away by the team losing No time limit is set for this so can in pheory can be 1min or 20mins, obviously if team is winning they will boot it out play if in possession game ends straight away.