Right but what I’m saying is why can’t the ref just stop the clock with a hand signal when the ball isn’t in play and restart it when it is? Every other sport with a clock that I’m aware of does this.
Anyone who has watched the fourth quarter of an American football game will know how paramount clock management is to that sport. Even more infuriating (for me) is basketball where the losing team is constantly stopping the clock with fouls to prevent the winning team from running down the final seconds... the last "minute" of the game can feel like an eternity.
At least soccer's timekeeping has the benefit of being simple. It works the same way whether a match is being played in the park or in a huge stadium. Personally I prefer it to having a clock that stops and starts like other sports have.
For instance, the ref wouldn't have to stop the clock for basic throw-ins, setting up corners, etc as that's part of the game. So long as it's done in a timely manner. But for flops/injuries, setting up bookings, substitutions, etc they could stop the clock and restart it when action resumes as they do privately today.
It just feels like having a single person secretly control the clock and make what appears to be arbitrary calls as to how much time is added and when play is officially over is odd.
I guess my point is the game could be played exactaly as it is today but there would be transparency on the game clock. The game isn't that tied to tradition using VAR after all.
The fact that a foul stops the clock isn't really the problem. The problem is the cost/benefit in that scenario favors stopping play with the intentional foul. Remember that the only reason stopping the clock even helps is because the foul (essentially) ends the opponent's possession. With a slightly different penalty (like a free throw but they keep the ball) that strategy is no longer viable.
Depends on your definition of better. Better for simplicity? I suppose. Better for entertainment? Arguable. Better for competition? No.
Right now, the rules incentivize time wasting. If you're up goal in the 85th minute, you should fake an injury or take 30 seconds for a goal kick because it improves your chances of winning. Other sports have solved this decades ago because of how flawed it is. Hell, even tennis, a sport that doesn't utilize a clock, added a serve clock due to players attempting to waste time to their benefit.