China's top flight Super League is courting controversy by extending halftime of its games to up to 30 minutes to prevent collusion on results in the final round of matches.
The temporary extension went into effect last week and will be implemented in the final round Saturday to make sure the second half of all games kick off at the same time.
FIFA's rules say halftime cannot exceed 15 minutes and Chinese media report widespread opposition to the extension among fans. World football's governing body has not yet issued a statement on the extension.
All matches will start at the same time, but the Chinese Football Association made the extra allowance for half time to ensure the second halves also start simultaneously to prevent teams knowing the outcome of other games. Stoppage time will be limited to one minute in the first half and four minutes in the second.
The Super League title has already been won by Shandong Luneng from the northern city of Jinan, but several teams remain in contention for places in the AFC Champions League while others are fighting to avoid relegation.
The ruling is just the latest in a series of controversies to strike the scandal-plagued Chinese game, now undergoing a thorough house cleaning in a bid to uproot entrenched match fixing, bribery, and player intimidation.
Top Chinese leaders ordered the crackdown in a bid to improve the overall quality of Chinese football and boost the standing of the national team, now ranked 89th in the world.
While the Super League enjoys healthy attendance figures and lucrative sponsorship deals, Chinese teams have continued to struggle in international competition.
China has failed to qualify for the past two World Cups and Chinese teams have found little success in Asian club competitions.
Allowing players to join overseas clubs had been seen as a way to boost the quality of the Chinese game, but the most successful export, former national team and Manchester City defender Sun Jihai, said that led to neglect of the domestic league.
''A decade ago our clubs were serious title-contenders going into any Asian competitions but today it is hard for us to progress beyond the group stage in the AFC Champions League,'' Sun said in an interview with FIFA's official website.
''The local league is the key for any Asian country to develop because this is the platform where the youngsters emerge and realize their potential.''
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