Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has called on Premier League referees to crack down on what he describes as Arsenal's excessive time-wasting at set-pieces. Speaking ahead of Wednesday night's match, the German accused the Gunners of spending up to 15 minutes per match organising their intricate corner and free-kick routines.
'For me, the main topic is to make a clear rule how much time you can waste for a corner, for a throw-in, for a free-kick,' Hurzeler said. 'I think no one recognises it, but when Arsenal has a corner and they are leading, sometimes they spend over one minute just to take a corner.'
He emphasised the need for consistency, noting that net game time has fallen from around 65 minutes to 50 minutes in some matches. 'We analysed it and the difference is just massive,' he added, urging officials to clarify the rules to combat the trend.
Hurzeler also argued that fans are being shortchanged by such tactics. 'Every supporter who pays a lot of money to go to the stadiums should see the same net game time. They want to see a football event, not 50 minutes of play and 40 minutes of stoppages.'
