Mad bid to axe stoppage time

STOPPAGE TIME at the end of one-sided contests — such as Liverpool’s 7-0 win over Manchester United last weekend — could some day be scrapped. FIFA’s refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina raised the radical idea in yesterday when he noted how three minutes were added at the end of the annihilation at Anfield, despite six of the goals being scored in the second half. ‘We may consider within the laws of the game to say that additional time has not to be given at the end of the match if there is a difference of “X” goals between the teams,’ he said. This change would be strongly challenged, given it would deny clubs the chance to improve their goal differences, which can affect final league positions. And Collina insisted that until any change was made, every match must be treated equally for the sake of fairness.