As Aberdeen fans struggle to come to terms with their side’s late collapse against Rangers, the subject of injury time has come to the fore several times in discussions.
Not only have the Dons support been left teary-eyed by the seven minutes added on by Willie Collum at the end of the match, but there have been murmurs by players and pundits in the aftermath of the win too.
Aberdeen defender Hayden Coulson said after the game that he believed “seven minutes was a lengthy time” [Glasgow Times].
But anyone objectively watching the encounter knows that suggesting the seven minutes was unfair is a complete and utter misrepresentation of reality.
Not only was there a ten minute period in the second half where Aberdeen time-wasted by keeping the ball out play, rolling around the floor feigning injuries or by disrupting play, but the game also had several timely VAR checks as well as eight yellow cards before the injury time period had even begun.
Rangers injury time complaints nothing more than sour grapes
Just because Rangers scored in the 95th and 97th minutes to win 3-2, it is not a justification for bending reality and if anything, Willie Collum was being lenient by only adding on seven minutes.
Perhaps the Scottish whistlers should also take some inspiration from the World Cup refs too, with a new directive instructing referees make injury time reflective of time wasting at the tournament.
If this was the case in Scotland, there’s every chance the rest of the teams would never beat the Old Firm again. Football games might even regularly stretch to 100 minutes plus.
These types of players have gotten so used to leniency on time wasting that its expected and if Aberdeen want to employ these tactics in the game, they can’t complain when it backfires.
But what’s worse is salty fans, pundits and journalists genuinely trying to present a case for injury time at the end of Rangers’ victory when it was clear that seven minutes is the bare minimum that should’ve been added on.
Any other suggestion or opinion is genuinely not founded in any reality and is nothing more than sour grapes from rivals who’re raging that Rangers managed to turn the game on its head.
Meanwhile, an explanation has been offered as an almost sacrilegious Rangers debate rages.