Why Do Referees Wear Two Watches? The Real Reason Behind Soccer’s Timekeeping Secret

Ever noticed a referee glancing at both wrists during a match and wondered why one watch isn't enough? It's not a fashion choice — it's how officials track every lost…

By Reetam Bodhak

September 8, 2026

3 min read

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Ever noticed a referee glancing at both wrists during a match and wondered why one watch isn’t enough? It’s not a fashion choice — it’s how officials track every lost second in a sport where the clock famously never stops.

Detail	Information
Watch 1’s Job	Official match clock, runs continuously from kickoff
Watch 2’s Job	Backup/delay-tracker, paused during major stoppages
Why Two?	Redundancy — if one fails or gets pressed by mistake
Who Decides Added Time?	The referee has final discretion, not the fourth official’s board
Longest Recorded Stoppage	28 minutes in a single half (two separate matches)

Why Do Referees Wear Two Watches?

Unlike basketball or American football, soccer’s clock never stops for routine stoppages like throw-ins or goal kicks — it just keeps running. To compensate, referees wear two specialized watches. The first acts as the official match clock, running continuously just like the stadium display. The second is used specifically to track major delays: injuries, long VAR reviews, or goal celebrations. When a serious stoppage happens, the referee pauses this second watch and restarts it once play resumes.

By comparing the gap between the two watches at the end of a half, the referee calculates roughly how much playing time was actually lost — and that number becomes the added time shown by the fourth official.

Why It’s Not an Exact Science

The board held up pitchside only shows the minimum stoppage time. If another injury, argument, or VAR check happens during those extra minutes, the referee can keep adding more, since the Laws of the Game make them the sole timekeeper. This is exactly why matches sometimes swing from an expected four minutes of stoppage time to eight or more.

Some of the most dramatic examples back this up: a 2022 Premier League match between Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers saw 28 minutes of first-half stoppage time after a drone forced players off the pitch, while England’s 2022 World Cup win over Iran featured 24 combined minutes of added time following a serious head injury to Iran’s goalkeeper.

For the full official rules governing timekeeping and match officials, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which maintains soccer’s Laws of the Game, remains the definitive source.

For more football explainers, match previews, and rule breakdowns, check out TechnoSports’ football section for regular coverage.

FAQs

1. Why do referees wear two watches instead of one?

The second watch acts as a backup for tracking major delays, ensuring the referee can still calculate accurate stoppage time if the first watch fails.