Influences on frequency and duration of game stoppages during soccer

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyse game stoppages in male and female league and knock-out matches in order to gain information about possible influences on the frequency and duration of stoppages during football matches. The sample consisted of 48 matches, resulting in 5860 analysed stoppages. For each stoppage, duration, type (e.g. free kick, goal kick, etc.), mode (Knock Out vs. Round Robin), sex, and location were registered. Per match 108.06 ± 13.02, 122.50 ± 13.86, 132.38 ± 10.76, and 139.00 ± 9.94 stoppages were registered on average for male league, male World Cup, female World Cup, and female league matches, respectively. ANOVAs were calculated to analyse possible influences of the different variables. Results showed that the duration of a stoppage is significantly influenced by all four variables (p Keywords: GAME STOPPAGES; INTERMITTENT NATURE; SOCCER Document Type: Research Article Publication date: April 1, 2012 More about this publication? Editorial Board Information for Authors Subscribe to this Title Terms & Conditions ingentaconnect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites (document).ready(function() { var shortdescription = (".originaldescription").text().replace(/\\&/g, '&').replace(/\\, '<').replace(/\\>/g, '>').replace(/\\t/g, ' ').replace(/\\n/g, ''); if (shortdescription.length > 350){ shortdescription = "" + shortdescription.substring(0,250) + "... more"; } (".descriptionitem").prepend(shortdescription);(".descriptionitem").prepend(shortdescription); (".shortdescription a").click(function() { (".shortdescription").hide();(".shortdescription").hide(); (".originaldescription").slideDown(); return false; }); }); Related content In this: publication By this: publisher In this Subject: Internal Medicine By this author: Siegle, Malte ; Lames, Martin GA_googleFillSlot("Horizontal_banner_bottom");

Full text

101
Influences on frequency and duration of game stoppages during soccer
Malte Siegle and Martin Lames
TU Munich, Faculty of Sport Science, Georg-Brauchle Ring 60/62, 80992 München.
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to analyse game stoppages in male and
female league and knock-out matches in order to gain information about
possible influences on the frequency and duration of stoppages during
football matches. The sample consisted of 48 matches, resulting in 5860
analysed stoppages. For each stoppage, duration, type (e.g. free kick, goal
kick, etc.), mode (Knock Out vs. Round Robin), sex, and location were
registered. Per match 108.06 ± 13.02, 122.50 ± 13.86, 132.38 ± 10.76, and
139.00 ± 9.94 stoppages were registered on average for Male league, male
World Cup, female World Cup, and female league matches, respectively.
ANOVAs were calculated to analyse possible influences of the different
variables. Results showed that the duration of a stoppage is significantly
influenced by all four variables (p<.01). Moreover, results showed
significant interactions between mode and sex (p<.01) and mode and
score (p<.01). Altogether, the present study showed that game stoppages
are a main part of football matches. Moreover, coaches as well as referees
can use the information gained from this study.
Keywords: soccer, intermittent nature, game stoppages
1. Introduction
Physical load in football matches is characterised by many episodes of players running
at different intensities, ranging from standing still to sprinting (Drust, Reilly & Cable,
2000). One reason for this characteristic could be the fact that there are many stoppages
during a football match. Therefore, much information is available about effective match
times. For example Tschan, Baron, Smekal and Bachl (2001) found that Italian and
French league football is halted for 32% of overall playing time on average. Meyer,
Ohlendorf and Kindermann (2000) reported that German First league matches in the
seasons 1992/93 through 1997/98 were halted for about 40 minutes, thus resulting in an
effective match time of about 55%.
Nevertheless, in order to be able to gain valuable information about the role game
stoppages play in the context of the intermittent nature of football, a summarised
analysis of the duration of all stoppages, like the analysis of effective match time, is
limited. Instead, a case-by-case analysis of game stoppages analysing every single
stoppage on its self seems to be more adequate (Siegle & Lames, subm.). Siegle, et al.
(subm.) analysed game stoppages of 16 male German First League matches. Results
showed that there are about 108 stoppages per match and that the duration of different
stoppage types (e.g. goal kicks and throw-ins) is influenced by the location of stoppage
and the current score. The analysed matches were played in Round Robin mode and a
International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport
2012, 12, 101-111.

102
comparison to matches of the World Cup 2006 (Augste & Lames, 2008) played in
Knock Out mode revealed that there are differences between the number and duration of
stoppages, as well as the influence of the variables location and score of stoppages.
No comparison between game stoppages in male and female football has been done yet.
Moreover, as case-by-case analysis are a new method for the observation of game
stoppages, the sample size has to be increased, in order to get valid information about
the phenomenon of game stoppages. Therefore, the present study analysed and
compared game stoppages of male Round Robin league matches, female Round Robin
league matches, male World Cup matches K.O. of 2010, and female World Cup
matches K.O. of 2011, in order to analyse the influence of performance level, mode and
sex on the frequencies and duration of stoppages in football.
2. Methods
Sixteen matches of the season 2009/2010 of the First German male league, eight
matches of the season 2009/2010 of the First German female league, sixteen matches of
the male FIFA World Cup 2010, and eight matches of the female FIFA World Cup
2011 were analysed. Altogether 48 matches were analysed, resulting in 5860 stoppages
recorded and categorised. For every match, stoppages of both teams were analysed.
Overtimes in the World Cup matches were excluded from the comparisons. The
analyses were in agreement to the ethical guidelines of the local university. In order to
be able to analyse the matches, video data were inspected using a standard VLC-player.
Videos used were taken from the main camera of the stadium, placed about 30m above
the pitch, or from the TV broadcasts.
In accordance to Siegle, et al. (subm.), stoppages were registered as observation units
and classified by different variables. The observational system accounted for number of
occurrence, duration of the stoppage, stoppage type, mode (Male Round Robin, Female
Round Robin, Male World Cup 2010, and Female World Cup 2011), sex (male,
female), location of stoppage, and score (trailing, drawing, leading). Stoppage types
were: free kick, corner kick, penalty, throw-in, kick off, referee ball, injury, substitution,
and goal kick. For situations in which more than one of the observed stoppages occurred
(e.g. free kick following an injury), the one with the longer mean duration was assigned
(e.g. injury), if statistics concerning the duration were calculated. If the statistics
concerning number of stoppages was calculated, all types were accounted (e.g. free kick
and injury). Location of stoppage was analysed by a pitch segmented into five parts (see
figure 1): defence (Zone 1), defensive half field (Zone 2), midfield (Zone 3), offensive
half field (Zone 4) and offence (Zone 5).
Score was divided into trailing, drawing, and leading. Sex was labelled by female and
male. Mode was characterised by female league matches, male league matches, female
World Cup, and male World Cup.
In order to check the reliability of the study, both, a control of the intra observer
reliability and of the inter observer reliability were performed. The intra observer
reliability was checked by reanalysing one half of a randomly chosen game by the main
observer. The inter observer reliability was checked by one half of a randomly chosen
game, which was analysed by the main observer and an additional observer. Both

103
observers were highly experienced (> 100 h observation time). Results were analysed
by Pearson correlation coefficient for duration of stoppage and by Cohen’s Kappa for
location of stoppage. For the other categories (type of stoppage, number of stoppage,
score, sex, and mode) there was total agreement.
The correlation coefficients for inter- and intra-observer reliability concerning duration
of stoppage were 0.928 and 0.978, respectively, meaning very high agreement in both
cases. Cohen’s Kappa for inter and intra-observer reliability was 0.829 and 0.995,
respectively, meaning very good results concerning the strength of agreement (Altman,
1991).Therefore, there are no measurement issues concerning the analysis of match
stoppages.
Figure 1: Location of game stoppage.
All statistical analyses were performed with the statistic software package SPSS
Version 19. A two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to analyse a
possible influence of mode, sex, and their interactions on the mean number of stoppages
per match. Additionally, an ANOVA was calculated to analyse a possible influence of
mode, sex, location of stoppage, and score on the mean duration of stoppage per match.
Moreover, Scheffé post hoc tests were applied to compare single means. η² statistics
was used as indicator of effect size. Effect sizes of 0.01/0.06/0.15 were taken as
small/medium/large effects, respectively, according to Cohen (1988).

104
3. Results
Table 1 gives an overview of all analysed stoppages. Female World Cup matches 2011
were halted for 43.47%, male World Cup matches 2010 for 44.92%, Female Round
Robin matches 2009/2010 for 38.62% and male Round Robin matches 2009/2010 for
37.46%, respectively. Per match 108.06 ± 13.02, 122.50 ± 13.86, 132.38 ± 10.76, and
139.00 ± 9.94 stoppages were registered on average for Male league, male World Cup,
female World Cup, and female league matches, respectively. Mean duration of all
stoppages was longest for the Male World Cup 2010 (19.80s ± 15.66s), shortest mean
duration of all stoppages was found for Female Round Robin 2009/2010 (15.00s ±
13.30s). For all modes, except Male Round Robin 2009/2010, injuries were found to be
the stoppage type with longest absolute duration of all stoppages. In Female World Cup
2011, one injury lasted for 214s. Shortest mean duration was observed for throw-ins for
all modes, except from a kick off lasting for 0 seconds (after the goal was scored, the
referee whistled of the match). Highest and lowest mean number of occurrences per
match was detected for throw ins and penalty kicks/referee balls, respectively.
Moreover, the mean duration of halted and running match parts were analysed in order
to point out the influence of stoppages on the intermittent nature of a match. Two
borders were introduced to analyse these distributions more detailed (see figure 2): short
intervals (0.0-15.0s), medium intervals (15.1s-1min), and long intervals (>1min). The
amount of long running match intervals was smaller for female matches than for male
matches. In contrast to this the number of short halted intervals in female matches was
larger than the ones of male matches.
The influences of mode, sex, and their interactions on the number of stoppages per
match are shown in table 2. The influence of sex on the duration of stoppages showed
that during female matches, play is continued significantly (p<.01) faster than during
male matches (16.31s ± 13.98s vs. 19.28s ± 15.86s). Kick offs (36.77s ± 6.85s vs.
52.75s ± 17.07s) and throw-ins (8.35s ± 5.28s vs. 10.19s ± 6.43s) are continued
significantly (p<.01) faster in female than in male matches. Moreover, there were
significant differences (p<.01) between the mean duration of stoppages in total
depending on the modes (Round Robin: 17.26s ± 15.13s vs. World Cup: 19.07s ±
15.31s). Moreover, significant differences (p<.01) in mean duration were found for goal
kicks, corner kicks, throw-ins, and free kicks. No differences (p>.05) were found for
kick offs, substitutions and injuries. There were too few penalty kicks and referee balls
to compare these types of stoppages.
The influence of the location on the duration of a stoppage was analysed for the
stoppage types throw-in and free kick. Table 3 shows that the location influenced the
mean duration of the stoppage per match, significantly. Throw ins in the defence were
executed slowest compared to the other locations, except for throw ins during the
female World Cup 2011. In this case, offence throw ins took longest, and throw ins in
the defence area were executed second longest. In contrast to throw ins free kicks were
executed slowest when occurring in the offensive half field and the offence for all four
modes (see table 4).

105
Table 1: Game stoppages overview.
Goal Kick
Kick off
Substitution
Corner Kick
Throw in
Penalty
Free Kick
Referee ball
Injury
Total
Mean duration [s]
Female World Cup 2011
21.56
41.72
38.68
28.24
9.31
80.00
22.08
-
81.58
17.73
Male World Cup 2010
21.13
53.75
41.73
25.53
11.09
63.00
22.16
25.67
62.92
19.80
Male Round Robin 2009/2010
19.56
51.96
40.90
23.67
9.11
51.00
19.95
47.33
82.50
18.72
Female Round Robin 2009/2010
18.30
33.35
36.80
23.32
7.48
36.00
17.67
32.00
53.97
15.00
sd duration [s]
Female World Cup 2011
8.46
5.02
12.39
7.14
5.03
-
13.04
-
44.51
14.56
Male World Cup 2010
8.02
22.22
14.41
9.09
6.78
16.70
15.80
28.01
36.43
15.66
Male Round Robin 2009/2010
7.72
11.74
14.62
15.85
5.80
15.56
12.46
17.79
40.48
16.04
Female Round Robin 2009/2010
6.75
5.80
6.68
5.69
5.35
7.00
10.63
-
33.55
13.30
Min duration
Female World Cup 2011
5.00
34.00
17.00
10.00
1.00
80.00
2.00
-
44.00
1.00
Male World Cup 2010
2.00
0.00
15.00
7.00
1.00
42.00
1.00
9.00
25.00
0.00
Male Round Robin 2009/2010
3.00
51.96
19.00
8.00
1.00
40.00
1.00
28.00
33.00
1.00
Female Round Robin 2009/2010
4.00
23.00
24.00
11.00
1.00
31.00
1.00
32.00
17.00
1.00
Max duration
Female World Cup 2011
76.00
50.00
69.00
45.00
40.00
80.00
64.00
-
214.00
214.00
Male World Cup 2010
60.00
150.00
82.00
59.00
57.00
78.00
85.00
58.00
185.00
185.00
Male Round Robin 2009/2010
45.00
76.00
85.00
205.00
42.00
62.00
64.00
63.00
179.00
205.00
Female Round Robin 2009/2010
39.00
33.35
51.00
38.00
77.00
44.00
70.00
32.00
165.00
165.00
Mean number per match
Female World Cup 2011
22.38
2.63
3.50
11.13
65.38
0.13
25.38
0.38
1.50
132.38
Male World Cup 2010
21.06
2.63
3.88
9.81
48.94
0.31
34.00
0.31
1.56
122.50
Male Round Robin 2009/2010
17.38
3.19
3.69
10.00
39.69
0.13
32.56
0.19
1.25
108.06
Female Round Robin 2009/2010
19.88
3.25
3.75
10.25
69.50
0.38
28.13
0.13
3.75
139.00
sd per match
Female World Cup 2011
3.89
1.41
1.51
3.64
11.93
0.35
3.89
0.52
1.07
10.76
Male World Cup 2010
5.26
1.71
0.72
3.60
10.55
0.79
8.79
0.48
1.50
13.86
Male Round Robin 2009/2010
4.27
1.76
0.87
2.78
6.72
0.34
9.03
0.54
1.18
13.02
Female Round Robin 2009/2010
3.18
1.39
1.39
2.96
10.10
0.52
6.90
0.35
1.58
9.94
Relative halted time
Female World Cup 2011
8.93%
2.03%
2.51%
5.82%
11.28%
0.19%
10.38%
-
2.27%
43.47%
Male World Cup 2010
8.24%
2.61%
2.99%
4.64%
10.05%
0.36%
13.95%
0.15%
1.82%
44.92%
Male Round Robin 2009/2010
6.29%
3.07%
2.79%
4.38%
6.70%
0.12%
12.03%
0.16%
1.91%
37.46%
Female Round Robin 2009/2010
6.74%
2.01%
2.56%
4.43%
9.63%
0.25%
9.20%
0.07%
3.75%
38.62%

106
Figure 2: Distribution of running and interrupted match intervals.
Table 2: Influence of mode, sex and mode*sex on mean number of stoppages per match.
Stoppage
Type
ANOVA statistics
Mean number of stoppage per match
Sex
Mode
Mode*Sex
Female
matches
Male
matches
Knock
Out
Round
Robin
Goal Kick
F=1.971;
p=.167; η2=.043
F=5.191; p=.028;
η2=.106
F=0.191; p=.664;
η2=.004
21.13 ±
3.67
19.22 ±
5.07
21.50 ±
4.80
18.21 ±
4.05
Kick off
F=0.004;
p=.950; η2=.000
F=1.407; p=.242;
η2=.031
F=0.004; p=.950;
η2=.000
2.94 ±
1.39
2.91 ±
1.73
2.63 ±
1.58
3.21 ±
1.61
Substitution
F=0.235;
p=.630; η2=.005
F=0.009; p=.923;
η2=.000
F=0.461; p=.501;
η2=.010
3.63 ±
1.41
3.78 ±
0.79
3.75 ±
1.03
3.71 ±
1.04
Corner Kick
F=0.616;
p=.437; η2=.014
F=0.119; p=.731;
η2=.003
F=0.285; p=.596;
η2=.006
10.69 ±
3.24
9.91 ±
3.17
10.25 ±
3.59
10.08 ±
2.78
Throw in
F=61.845;
p=.000; η2=.584
F=0.759; p=.388;
η2=.017
F=5.172; p=.028;
η2=.105
67.44 ±
10.89
44.31 ±
9.89
54.42 ±
13.36
49.63 ±
16.33
Free Kick
F=7.098;
p=.011; η2=.139
F=0.072; p=.790;
η2=.002
F=0.729; p=.398;
η2=.016
26.75 ±
5.59
33.28 ±
8.80
31.13 ±
8.50
31.08 ±
8.50
Injury
F=8.667;
p=.005; η2=.165
F=5.476; p=.024;
η2=.111
F=9.578; p=.003;
η2=.179
2.63 ±
1.75
1.34 ±
1.54
1.54
±1.35
2.08 ±
1.77
Total
F=28.223;
p=.000; η2=.391
F=1.034; p=.315;
η2=0.023
F=7.517; p=.009;
η2=0.146
135.69 ±
10.57
115.28
±15.12
125.79 ±
13.53
118.38 ±
19.04

107
Table 3: Influence of location on mean duration of stoppage per match.
Location
Mode*Location
Sex*Location
Mode*Sex*Location
Throw in
F=15.584;
p=.000; η²=..221
F=0.779; p=.540;
η²=.014
F=2.739; p=.030;
η²=.047
F=0.338; p=.852;
η²=.006
Free Kick
F=62.903;
p=.000; η²=.549
F=0.896; p=.467;
η²=.017
F=2.170; p=.074;
η²=.040
F=0.829; p=.508;
η²=.016
Table 4: Different mean durations of stoppages per match concerning their location. *= significant difference to
defence; #= significant difference to defensive half field; Δ= significant difference to midfield; Ϯ=
significant difference to offensive half field; Ω= significant difference to offence
Sample
defence
defensive half
field
Midfield
offensive half
field
offence
Throw
in
Female Round-
Robin
9.44 ± 1.38
7.71 ± 1.72
6.63 ± 0.94
6.98 ± 1.49
7.90 ± 2.79
Female World Cup
2011
10.50 ± 3.13
9.03 ± 1.20
9.32 ± 2.00
8.47 ± 1.55
10.05 ± 2.78
Male Round-Robin
13.28 ± 3.14
#,Δ,Ϯ,Ω
8.87 ± 1.78
*
8.98 ± 1.75
*
8.34 ± 2.66
*
8.65 ± 2.40
*
Male World Cup
2010
14.47 ± 3.07
#,Δ,Ϯ,Ω
10.66 ± 1.82
*
10.51 ± 2.79
*
9.02 ± 1.61
*
11.61 ± 3.42
*
Free
Kick
Female Round-
Robin
14.80 ± 2.71
Ω
14.20 ± 3.62
Ω
17.14 ± 8.37
Ω
23.17 ± 4.05
35.26 ± 15.78
*,#,Δ
Female World Cup
2011
21.43 ± 5.99
Ω
14.01 ± 4.07
Ϯ,Ω
20.70 ± 7.30 Ω
30.03 ± 4.96
#
38.40 ± 15.25
*,#,Δ
Male Round-Robin
21.76 ± 3.75
Δ,Ϯ,Ω
15.78 ± 4.50
Ϯ,Ω
14.28 ± 3.59
*,Ϯ,Ω
28.99 ± 8.40
*,#,Δ,Ϯ
36.11 ± 8.17 *,#,Δ
Male World Cup
2010
23.92 ± 6.56
Ω
15.56 ± 3.04
Ϯ,Ω
15.71 ± 4.51
Ϯ,Ω
29.34 ± 5.83
#,Δ,Ω
44.13 ± 17.16
*,#,Δ,Ϯ
Results on score influencing the mean duration of a stoppage per match are given in table 5.
Types of stoppages that were influenced by score were corner kicks, free kicks, goal kicks,
and throw ins. The biggest differences (see table 6) between trailing and leading status were
found for Female World Cup matches 2011 and Male World Cup matches 2010 for the
stoppage type goal kick (7.45s and 7.68s difference between the means of the duration).

108
Table 5: Influence of score on mean duration of stoppage per match. *=significant difference to Trailing;
#=significant difference to Drawing; Δ=significant difference to Leading.
Type of Stoppage
Score
Mode*Score
Sex*Score
Mode*Sex*Score
Corner Kick
F=1.504; p=.227;
η²=.029
F=2.349; p=.101;
η²=.044
F=0.579; p=.563;
η²=.011
F=0.248; p=.781;
η²=.005
Free Kick
F=5.011; p=.008;
η²=.078
F=0.251; p=.778;
η²=.004
F=0.405; p=.668;
η²=.007
F=0.522; p=.595;
η²=.009
Goal Kick
F=7.423; p=.001;
η²=.116
F=4.621; p=.012;
η²=.076
F=.314; p=.731; η²=.006
F=0.206; p=.814;
η²=.004
Throw in
F=4.966; p=.008;
η²=.075
F=6.030; p=.003;
η²=.089
F=0.381; p=.684;
η²=.006
F=0.159; p=.853;
η²=.003
Total
F=5.229; p=.007;
η²=.078
F=4.174; p=.018;
η²=.063
F=0.500; p=.607;
η²=.008
F=0.740; p=.479;
η²=.012
Table 6: Influence of Score on mean duration of stoppage per match. *=significant difference to Trailing;
#=significant difference to Drawing; Δ=significant difference to Leading
Sample
Trailing
Drawing
Leading
Corner Kick
Female Round-Robin
25.76 ± 3.56
22.28 ± 1.41
23.54 ± 3.02
Male Round-Robin
23.45 ± 4.45
24.84 ± 11.74
25.45 ± 6.24
Male World Cup 2010
22.07 ± 5.15 #,Δ
27.97 ± 4.83 *
27.55 ± 5.04 #
Female World Cup 2011
25.19 ± 6.25
30.00 ± 2.77
29.82 ± 2.98
Free Kick
Female Round-Robin
15.29 ± 3.10
17.23 ± 5.50
18.41 ± 1.49
Male Round-Robin
18.10 ± 6.25
19.39 ± 4.10
21.63 ± 7.56
Male World Cup 2010
19.11 ± 4.24 Δ
23.01 ± 6.03
25.94 ± 4.26 *
Female World Cup 2011
22.00 ± 7.10
21.37 ± 4.64
25.01 ± 3.14
Goal Kick
Female Round-Robin
17.54 ± 4.82
17.67 ± 3.49
17.33 ± 5.73
Male Round-Robin
18.51 ± 5.39
19.92 ± 4.21
20.46 ± 5.59
Male World Cup 2010
16.13 ± 5.78 #,Δ
21.43 ± 3.36 *
23.81 ± 3.00 *
Female World Cup 2011
17.70 ± 3.57 Δ
20.99 ± 4.37
25.15 ± 5.60 *
Throw in
Female Round-Robin
7.72 ± 0.82
6.93 ± 0.67
7.45 ± 2.09
Male Round-Robin
9.66 ± 4.79
9.23 ± 2.02
9.64 ± 3.28
Male World Cup 2010
8.80 ± 2.70 #,Δ
11.84 ± 2.20 *
13.16 ± 1.71 #
Female World Cup 2011
8.05 ± 1.22 Δ
9.43 ± 1.54
11.40 ± 2.18 *
Total
Female Round-Robin
17.06 ± 3.77
13.95 ± 0.77
14.64 ± 1.59
Male Round-Robin
22.82 ± 6.98 #
17.54 ± 1.69 *
19.97 ± 4.40
Male World Cup 2010
19.65 ± 3.81 Δ
19.74 ± 2.35 Δ
22.90 ± 3.22 *,#
Female World Cup 2011
18.70 ± 2.84
17.35 ± 2.62
19.15 ± 2.27

109
4. Discussion
Effective match time for all modes ranged between 62% and 55%. These results are in line
with previous studies (Meyer, et al., 2000; Tschan, et al., 2001). A detailed analysis showed
that stoppages due to throw ins and free kicks cause up to half of the total halted match time
(18.73% - 24.00%). Halted match time was increased for World Cup matches compared to
league matches (44.92%/43.47% vs. 37.46%/38.62%), independent of sex of players.
Moreover, case-by-case analysis of stoppages showed that more stoppages occur during
female matches, than during male matches (132.38/ 139.00 vs. 108.06/122.50). This
difference may be explained by comparing the different stoppage types. The most striking
difference is found in throw ins in female matches, where there are 20-30 more throw ins than
in male matches. This interpretation is confirmed by the analysis of running and halted match
intervals. In female matches, halted match intervals occurred more often than in male
matches, and additionally, long running match intervals for female matches were found less
often than long running match intervals in male matches. In line with these findings, the
influence of sex on the duration showed significant differences for kick offs, and throw ins.
Reasons for this, especially throw ins might be found in different playing styles, but to give a
full explanation of these facts is difficult.
Whereas the fact that kick offs last significantly longer during male matches can be explained
by the bigger audiences and the different way, male and female players orchestrate their
games. In German male league soccer matches the number of spectators can reach up to
almost 80.000, whereas in German female league soccer matches, 8.000 spectators are
exceptional. Analysed matches of the Male World Cup 2010 in South Africa were attended by
55.879 spectators on average, matches of the Female World Cup 2011 in Germany by 36.439
(FIFA, 2011a&b). Because of these numbers, female players do not celebrate goals scored in
a way their male colleagues do it, namely gesturing towards the fans. Another argument for
this theory is the difference between durations of kick offs of female league and World Cup
matches. Female players during the World Cup took more time for kick offs than during
league matches (41.72s vs. 33.35s).
A detailed analysis of the other influencing variables on the duration of stoppages showed that
the mode is a factor that has to be considered. A global explanation for the differences in
duration of stoppage could not be found. One reason could be the fact, that World Cup
matches are more special, since there is only one tournament every four years.
The analysis of the influence of location on the duration of a stoppage showed that all male
matches were characterised by the fact that throw ins in the defence took longest to be
executed. One reason for this could be the fact that a lost ball in this zone could lead to a
scoring opportunity for the opponent. For female matches this phenomenon was not
statistically significant, but at least for female league matches a trend could be identified,
showing longer durations for the execution of throw ins in the defence. Similar to these
findings, the duration of free kicks was significantly influenced by the location of stoppage.
Independent of the mode, free kicks in the offensive half field and the offence took longer
than free kicks in the other zones. This could be ascribed to the fact such free kicks are
potential scoring opportunities and therefore, players invest more time to execute the free
kick. Moreover, full backs moving forward, or other special line-ups increase the duration of
a free kick, as well as a defence wall being aligned by the referee.

110
A widespread assumption in football is that leading teams take more time to continue after a
stoppage compared to trailing teams. Therefore, the influence of score on the duration of a
stoppage was analysed to be able to confirm or reject this theory. Analysis showed, that
except for female league matches, the theory that leading teams try to use stoppages to run
down the clock could be approved. Especially, corner kicks and goal kicks during the male
and female World Cup matches were used by the teams for this purpose. It has to be
mentioned, that there might be a possible influence of the quality of the team on the mean
duration of stoppage, as basically good team may take the lead and stay in lead while not so
good teams fall behind and stay behind. Consequently, basically good teams would take more
time to resume the match, whereas basically bad teams would take less time to do so. This
was controlled by an ANOVA calculated for the influence of the factor team on the duration
of stoppage. Results showed one significant influence (p<.01) for female league matches. A
Scheffe post hoc test separated one team form all the others. This team took way more time to
resume the match than all the other teams. A described possible quality effect would suggest
that this team was basically good. However, the team clearly lost its match and performed
bad. Therefore, a possible quality effect might influence the data, nevertheless, results prove
the assumption that leading teams try to run down the clock, whereas trailing teams hurry up
to resume the match. Referees should take care to either penalise such behaviour, or take these
information into account when calculating the additional time for a match.
5. Practical Implications
Case-by-case analyses can help to better understand the way a football match is staged.
Moreover, the results can be used to improve the referee performance in terms of time
wasting.
6. Conclusion
Case-by-case analyses of game stoppages describe an important aspect of the intermittent
character of football. Additionally, the separated analysis of male and female matches as well
as the analysis of various modes showed that there are differences that have to be taken into
account when matches are compared with each other.
7. Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Bettina Grossmann, Ferdinand Reinhard and Alexander
Schmalhofer for assisting during data acquisition.
8. References
Altman, D.G. (1991). Practical statistics for medical research. Chapman and Hall.
Augste C & Lames M. (2008). Differenzierte Betrachtung von taktischem Verhalten und
Belastungsstrukturen auf der Basis von Spielunterbrechungen im Fußball. In A. Woll,
W. Klöckner, M. Reichmann & M. Schlag (Hrsg.), Sportspielkulturen erfolgreich
gestalten (S. 113-116). Hamburg: Czwalina.

111
Cohen J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioural Sciences. Hillsdale:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Drust B, Reilly T & Cable NT. (2000). Physiological responses to laboratory-based soccer-
specific intermittent and continuous exercise. Journl of Sports Sciences, 18, 885-892.
FIFA (2011a). Technical Report WWC Germany 2011.Available online at
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/footballdevelopment/technicalsupport/01/50/87/69
/technicalreportfwwcgermany2011.pdf (Accessed 15 September 2011)
FIFA (2011b). Technical Report WM 2010. Available online at
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/technicaldevp/01/29/30/95/reportwm
2010_web.pdf (Accessed 15 September 2011).
Meyer T, Ohlendorf K & Kindermann W. (2000). Longitudinal analysis of endurance and
sprint abilities in elite German soccer players. Deutsche Zeitschrift für
Sportmedizin, 7+8, 271-277.
Siegle M & Lames M. (subm.). game interruptions in elite soccer.
Tschan H, Baron R, Smekal G. & Bachl N. (2001). Belastungs- Beanspruchungsprofil im
Fußball aus physiologischer Sicht. Österreicherisches Journal für Sportmedizin, 1,
7-18.