Added time, extra time and penalty shoot-outs explained

Added time is the handful of minutes tacked on to the end of each half to make up for time lost; every match has it. Extra time is something else entirely: two further periods of up to 15 minutes each, played only when a competition needs a winner and the scores are level. A penalty shoot-out is the last resort if they still cannot be separated. League matches use only the first of the three.

Added time (stoppage time)

A match is two equal halves of 45 minutes with a half-time interval of no more than 15 minutes. Under Law 7 the referee makes allowance in each half for time lost through:

• substitutions;
• assessment and removal of injured players;
• time-wasting;
• disciplinary sanctions;
• medical stoppages permitted by the competition rules – "drinks" breaks of up to one minute and "cooling" breaks of ninety seconds to three minutes;
• VAR checks and reviews;
• goal celebrations;
• any other cause, including a significant delay to a restart.

The board shows a minimum

At the end of the final minute of each half the fourth official indicates the minimum additional time the referee has decided on. The referee may play more than that – if there is another stoppage during added time, for instance – but may not play less. A timekeeping mistake in the first half cannot be put right by changing the length of the second.

One more detail: if a penalty kick has to be taken or retaken as time runs out, the half is extended until that kick has been completed.

How the minutes are written

Added time has its own notation on a live score, so that minute 46 of the first half is not confused with the opening minute of the second.

So if Arsenal lead Fulham 1–0 and the clock reads 90+6', the board probably showed at least six minutes and the match is in its dying moments.

When a winner is needed

A draw is a perfectly good result in a league. In a knockout tie somebody has to go through, and Law 10 allows competitions exactly three procedures for finding a winner after a drawn match or a level home-and-away tie:

1. the away goals rule;
2. two equal periods of extra time, of no more than 15 minutes each;
3. a penalty shoot-out.

They can be combined, and which of them are used is the competition's choice. That last point explains why one cup goes to extra time and another heads straight to penalties.

Extra time

Extra time consists of two equal periods of up to 15 minutes each. A short drinks break of no more than one minute is allowed at the interval between them, and added time is played in extra-time periods just as it is in normal time – hence 105+1' and 120+2'.

Goals scored in extra time are real goals in the match score. If Chelsea and Aston Villa are 1–1 after 90 minutes and Chelsea score in the 112th, the match finishes 2–1 after extra time.

The penalty shoot-out, step by step

If the scores are still level, the tie is settled by kicks from the penalty mark.

• Two coin tosses. The referee tosses a coin to decide the goal at which the kicks are taken. A second toss follows, and its winner chooses whether to take the first or the second kick.
• Who is eligible. Only players on the field at the end of the match, or temporarily off it for something like an injury or an equipment change, may take part. The one exception is a substitute for a goalkeeper who is unable to continue.
• Equal numbers. If one team has more players than the other at the end of the match, or during the kicks, it must reduce its number to match; the excluded players take no part.
• Five kicks each, alternately. If, before both teams have taken five, one has scored more than the other could reach with its remaining kicks, the shoot-out ends there.
• Sudden death. If the teams are level after five each, kicks continue until one team has scored a goal more than the other from the same number of kicks.
• Everyone takes a turn. Each kick is taken by a different player, and all eligible players – the goalkeeper included – must take one before anyone takes a second.
• Where everyone stands. The eligible players wait in the centre circle. The kicker's own goalkeeper stands where the goal line meets the penalty-area line.

A kick is completed when the ball stops moving, goes out of play or the referee stops play for an offence, and the kicker may not play the ball a second time. Since 2026/27 there is a specific rule for an accidental double touch – a kicker who slips and knocks the ball against the standing foot, say. If the ball goes in, the kick is retaken; if it does not, it is recorded as missed.

Cards during the shoot-out

Cautions and warnings from the match are not carried into the shoot-out, so a player with a yellow card from normal time is not sent off for a caution during the kicks. A player sent off during the match cannot take part. A goalkeeper sent off during the shoot-out must be replaced by an eligible player. And a goalkeeper whose offence leads to a retake is warned the first time and cautioned for any further offence. There is more on discipline in our guide to cards and suspensions.

Shoot-out goals are not match goals

Kicks in a shoot-out do not count in the match score. The match is recorded as a draw – 1–1, say – and the shoot-out result is given separately, for example 4–3 on penalties.

When competitions use them

League matches finish after 90 minutes plus added time. In the Premier League, as in the other major domestic leagues, a draw stands and each team takes a point.

UEFA Champions League knockout ties. Under Article 21 of the 2026/27 regulations, if the two teams have scored the same number of goals over the two legs, two 15-minute periods of extra time are played at the end of the second leg, followed by a penalty shoot-out if they are still level. There is a five-minute break between normal time and extra time, during which the players stay on the pitch at the referee's discretion. The article contains no away-goals step. The wider structure of the Champions League is covered in our format guide.

Serie A play-offs. Italy's top flight has an unusual arrangement for 2026/27. If two teams finish level on points in first place, the title is decided by a single play-off match; if it is level after 90 minutes there is no extra time and it goes straight to penalties. Two teams level on the boundary between 17th and 18th place play a two-legged play-off on the same no-extra-time basis. The tie-breakers guide has the detail.

Other cups and tournaments. For national cups and international tournaments, the competition regulations decide whether extra time is played or the tie goes straight to penalties.

How it looks on ScoreMondo

During added time the minute reads, for example, 90+4'. If the tie goes on, you will see "Break" before extra time, then "ET" (in full, "Extra time") with the running minute, and "Pens" or "Penalty shoot-out" while the kicks are being taken.

Finished matches carry "FT" after normal time, "AET" after extra time and "AP" after penalties – the label other sources often write as "PEN". The match header then spells the story out in lines such as "ET 2–1" and "Penalties 4–3". Every label is decoded in the match statuses guide, and you can see them in use on the live matches page or in yesterday's results.

Frequently asked questions

Is added time the same as extra time?

No. Added time, also called stoppage time, makes up for time lost within a half and is played in every match. Extra time is two additional periods used only when a competition needs a winner.

Do goals in a penalty shoot-out count in the final score?

No. The match is recorded as a draw and the shoot-out result is listed separately.

What happens if every player has taken a penalty and it is still level?

The kicks carry on. Once all eligible players, goalkeepers included, have taken one, players may take a second kick.

Is the away goals rule still used?

The Laws still permit it as one of three procedures, but each competition decides. The Champions League knockout article for 2026/27 does not include it.