Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne has expressed his concern over the new rules on stoppage time, calling them nonsensical and stating that even referees don't approve of them.
De Bruyne recently played for City in the marathon Community Shield match against Arsenal, which lasted nearly 106 minutes due to the enforcement of the new guidelines by referee Stuart Attwell. He added three minutes at the end of the first half and eight at the end of the second, which were further extended to more than 13 minutes due to injuries to Thomas Partey and Kyle Walker after a collision.
In the 101st minute, Arsenal managed to equalise before eventually defeating City in a penalty shoot-out. De Bruyne is worried about the additional workload players will face this season with longer games under these new rules.
‘Assuming we're going to play about 15 minutes extra every game now, that says it all,’ said De Bruyne as the Times reported. ‘We spoke to the Arsenal players and even the referees. They don't even want to do it, but it's the new rule and it is what it is.
‘A game like today, even the first half with three minutes extra, you can only guess what's going to happen if you play a lower team who keep timewasting all the time.
‘Today we played 12 or 13 minutes. I can see games going for 20 or 25 minutes. I think this will change in one or two months but this is the first game.’
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