West Ham United ace Michail Antonio jokes about ‘fighting’ officials amid Premier League development
West Ham striker Michail Antonio has joked about fighting officials after the introduction of new Premier League rules about time-wasting.
Under a new directive for the 2023/24 season, additional time will be played at the end of each half in a bid to clamp down on players wasting time [The Athletic, 11 August].
The publication added that the expectation is that 100-minute matches will become the norm this season, much to the frustration of Antonio.
“Don’t they know this is a high-speed game, we need the rest,” Antonio said on The Footballer’s Football Podcast. “We are not robots.
“Imagine you are 5-0 down and they put up 15 minutes – I’m fighting the referee. I’m fighting him. We’re going to blows. I ain’t playing no more. Blow the whistle mate.”
Much-needed change
It is about time that lawmakers made the rule change regarding time-wasting, with far too much time spent by players not actually playing the game.
All of it is, of course, gamesmanship, with clubs doing their utmost to run down the clock when the result is in their favour.
But already in the opening weekend of Premier League matches referees have been busy with the law change, with a handful of unfortunate players becoming the very first victims.
It may seem harsh at first, but players will very quickly catch on to the new rule and will no doubt kick time-wasting out of the game.
The same can be said for the rule regarding players waving imaginary cards at referees, an issue that was also very quickly deployed by referees in the opening round of fixtures.
Antonio clearly isn’t happy with the extended minutes, but clubs should have plenty of options within their squads to ensure players don’t become exhausted.
In other West Ham news, an exit development has emerged regarding a player the Hammers want to sign.