Wasting Time in the Premier League
Almost 40% of money spent on watching Premier League football is squandered by time wasters. Who are the worst offenders and which referees let it happen?
Let’s say you’re lucky enough to have a season ticket for a Premier League club. Congratulations (maybe). The price will vary depending on the team, but the average cost across the division for the cheapest option is reportedly just shy of £550. A little over £200 of that is spent not watching football.
It’s spent on a full-back drying the ball with a towel before taking a throw-in. It goes down the drain when their meat wall lines up against your meat wall before a corner. It disappears into the ether as the goalkeeper places the ball for a goal-kick, moves it slightly, then moves it back.
It’s not all bad. Some of your lost £200 is eaten up by goal celebrations. A little will go towards applauding the player of the match off the field when they are substituted late on. It’s fine if it’s your team doing the limbs and the clapping, rather less so if you’re on the wrong end of it. That’s football.
Maybe you don’t mind the other time wasting if your team is the underdog in the match or if it helps them win. Football is unfair enough financially so who can blame the smaller clubs if they take advantage of gamesmanship when they can?
Except it isn’t just the relative minnows, is it? We saw in the recent review of time wasting in Liverpool’s 2025/26 season that Aston Villa, Tottenham and Newcastle (twice) have been among the worst offenders in Reds matches. They’re among the top eight Premier League teams in terms of wage bill, not newly promoted scrappers.
The efforts of the Magpies in their home defeat to Liverpool remain the worst example of time wasting in the Premier League this season. Multiple different teams appear in the top 10 though, with only five of them winning (with two of those were against Wolves at home). Was the gamesmanship even worth it?
In a one-off set of circumstances, anything can happen. The real issue is the persistent offenders and the referees who enable them. They’re wasting everyone’s time and money.
