The injury time wars fundamentally continue. Ever since a false stat was published and later retracted about the amount of injury time in Scottish football this season, mud flinging has taken place. Both sides are convinced everybody on the other side is a liar. Ibrox Noise was even accused of this when we pointed out the original stat was false and had been retracted. Only for a Celtic fan of all things to call us liars, even although our point indirectly defended that lot (!)
False Stats and Fan Reactions
The thickery over there knows no bounds, and the mud flinging from both sides over false information has continued to this date. We are seeing more and more false stats being published regarding injury time. This is over who gets more, while one neutral comment amusingly called it out right by describing a bunch of idiots on both sides arguing repeatedly, each convinced the other is getting more.
The absolute truth is they are around about the same. Moreover, we published the stats previously that confirm Rangers get marginally more, but that is really about it. On average, the big difference was Livingston, where Rangers got nine minutes in that one.
How Injury Time Really Works
A further point has also been raised, not so much about official injury time. This one is about how much extra referees unofficially add at the end. For example, if a team gets five minutes added time, it does not just stop at five, because the referee shows discretion and adds a few more seconds here and there to account for stoppages inside that added period.
This covers anything that costs time, which means it is not black and white and not purely about the numbers. The original stat claimed Celtic had the highest and Rangers had about 100 minutes less, but that was not true and it also ignored this extra time factor entirely.
The simple reality is that ‘extra’ injury time is impossible to add up accurately. Well, unless someone manually counts every second after official time expires in every single match. Only then could they determine how much additional time was actually played. We are sure someone obsessive enough could attempt that, possibly OCD or ADHD driven, but it will not be us.
The Bigger Picture
This is a long standing and silly fight that has gone on for years. We must remember that neither side is top, so flinging mud at each other over injury time ignores the simple fact that neither Rangers nor Celtic are leading right now. Neither of them is actually benefiting that much from extra time. It is Hearts who are still top.
It does not matter what we say here. Many fans will remain convinced referees cheat their own side while benefiting the other. That is the Old Firm way and it has always been that way, even if both teams were mid table. It will always be my Da is bigger than your Da, or your Da is unfair to my Da. That is the banter between both teams and both sets of fans, and it will always exist regardless of the facts. It is the way it is.