GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
Why can football continue beyond the displayed added time, and when must a half be extended?
The displayed added-time figure is a minimum, not a countdown to a guaranteed final whistle: the referee can increase it but cannot reduce it. Time lost belongs to the half in which it happened, so a first-half timekeeping mistake cannot be repaid by changing the length of the second half. If a penalty must be taken or retaken at the end of a period, the period continues until Law 14's penalty-specific completion event.
For Football viewers interpreting the added-time board and the special completion of a penalty at a period’s end. · Updated
Displayed additional time can grow
The referee accounts in each half for time lost there, including substitutions, delays, disciplinary sanctions and goal celebrations. The fourth official displays the minimum the referee has decided at the end of the final minute. The referee may add more time but may not reduce the displayed allowance.
The number shown is not a prediction of the exact second the whistle will sound. A further delay during the added period can increase the time still to be played.
A first-half error stays in that half
The Law does not let the referee correct a first-half timekeeping error by lengthening or shortening the second half. Timekeeping is handled within the half where the lost time occurred; one half is not a bank for the other.
A penalty can extend the period until it is complete
If a penalty has to be taken or retaken at the end of a half or extra-time period, the period continues until the penalty is completed. Under the special end-period test, completion occurs when the ball stops moving, goes out, is played by a player other than the defending goalkeeper, or the referee stops play for an offence by the kicker or a teammate.
A defending goalkeeper's touch alone is not the listed outfield-player-touch completion event. If the goalkeeper's contact sends the ball out, the separate out-of-play event completes the penalty; if the ball stays moving in play, the extension can continue.
A defending-team offence followed by a missed or saved penalty can require a retake. Law 14.2 supplies the detailed outcome tests, including the goalkeeper-specific impact conditions, so not every early movement is automatically a retake.
Which edition this guide uses
Edition note: This guide follows the IFAB's current online Laws of the Game 2026/27, checked 15 October 2026. Circular 32 dates the edition's effect to 1 July 2026. Competitions that had already started may adopt it earlier or no later than their next competition; the adoption of any particular competition is not established here. Circular 34 explains that Circular 33 changes appeared online but missed the printed book's production schedule. This guide uses the current online text and does not claim that each clause is new in 2026/27 or that a trial applies.
A fictional late-period sequence
In a fictional match, the fourth official displays a five-minute minimum after substitutions, celebrations and other significant non-medical delays. A further significant restart delay during that period can add time, but the example does not predict a whistle at an exact second. Separately, a timekeeping error in the first half cannot be balanced by changing the second half. In an end-of-period penalty branch, a goalkeeper touches the moving ball but it remains in play, so that contact alone does not complete the kick. In a separate branch, after the goalkeeper's touch an outfield player plays the ball; that touch meets the listed completion event. In two other branches the ball stops moving or goes out of play, each a separate completion event. If a defending player commits a relevant offence and the penalty is missed or saved, the applicable Law 14 retake conditions must be checked.
Related questions
Can the referee reduce the displayed added time?
No. The displayed figure is a minimum; it may be increased but not reduced.
Can first-half lost time be recovered by changing the second half?
No. The Law says a first-half timekeeping error is not compensated by changing the length of the second half.
Does a goalkeeper's touch automatically end an extended penalty?
No. A goalkeeper touch alone is not the outfield-player-touch completion event; the ball may still be in play unless another listed completion condition occurs.
Does every defensive infringement automatically make an end-period penalty a retake?
No. Apply Law 14's specific offence and outcome conditions; goalkeeper cases have their own impact tests.
Sources and further reading
- The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 7: The Duration of the Match; 7.1–7.4; complete 7.3 minimum/increase/no-compensation clauses and 7.4. Current online body checked 2026-10-15; a separate day-level body publication date was not established.
- The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 14: The Penalty Kick; 14.1 complete penalty-completion and additional-time paragraphs. Current online body checked 2026-10-15; a separate day-level body publication date was not established.
- The IFAB Circular 32, dated 2026-03-31, p. 3: 2026/27 effective date and transition.
- The IFAB Circular 33, dated 2026-05-19: additional 2026/27 changes, read for edition control.
- The IFAB Circular 34, dated 2026-07-27, pp. 2 and 4: online/printed materials and trial-permission controls.