Don’t you hate the endless series of strategic time-outs in basketball and American football, which always end up breaking up the flow of the game? We do. Why can’t all sports follow the international football (soccer) model and use a running clock with “stoppage time” added on at the end of the game?

But how does “stoppage time” work in soccer, you ask? Easy, as Nick Greene explains:

What constitutes whether something is worthy of stoppage time varies from league to league, but in FIFA competitions like the World Cup, the referee is tasked with keeping track of how much time has been spent on substitutions, injuries and injury treatment, time-wasting, and “any other cause.” Refs usually keep track of the duration of these instances on their wristwatches and then, with a few minutes remaining in regulation, inform the fourth official of how much time they have decided on so they can let the players, coaches, and fans know via the aforementioned board. (Referees can add more time in the midst of stoppage time on the fly if something occurs that calls for it.)

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